


Haught and Bothered

by theheartofwriting



Series: A new #wayhaught series [1]
Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Drama, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Humor, Limbo, Other, Purgatory, Romance, Sexual Content, Sexual Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2019-04-04
Packaged: 2019-09-06 23:52:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 23,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16842961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theheartofwriting/pseuds/theheartofwriting
Summary: Waverly feels she is finally settling into the life she has wanted; a family, a partner in Nicole Haught, and a fulfilling career, but this is Purgatory and something is about to change that.





	1. Dressup

“Babe, you almost ready?” Quipped Waverly Earp.

“Look, this isn’t as easy for me as it is for you. It takes me time to get all dolled up.” Nicole yelled back, her voice reverberating down the hallway from where her bedroom is.

“Ugh, please don’t say dolled,” Waverly groaned.

“What?” Nicole yelled. “Don’t tell me Wynonna got into another fight with Dolls?”

“You have to ask?” Waverly replied while snooping around Nicole’s apartment. Tonight was the third annual Purgatory Fall Festival, and the first time they were officially attending anything as a couple.

“What about this time?” Said Nicole.

“Just the usual - who’s besting who and who gets to brag about it the most.” Waverly perused Nicole’s immaculately clean apartment while glancing over a photo of herself and Nicole that was resting on top of her cabinet. She pulled it down and smeared away the dust, placing it back on the shelf with a self-satisfying smile. “Frankly, I’m totally on Wynonna’s side on this one! She nailed three revenants with one shot!”

“One!? How the hell did she manage to do that?” Nicole yelled again.

“That’s where Dolls wants to take all the credit,” Waverly replied, sauntering over to the desk on the other side of Nicole’s living room. Waverly was fingering the growing pile of unopened mail but stopped on another photo of Nicole. “He’s saying if it weren't for him who shackled them all together, she wouldn’t have had a shot considering she only had one bullet left.”

“Well, he's is a point there,” Nicole replied.

“It’s not like she couldn’t reload!”

“Fair point.”

Waverly pulled the picture towards her; a photo of a younger Nicole Haught in her graduating academy attire. Smiling to herself, Waverly felt a warm rush of heat fill her while looking at the innocence of her partners' youth. The vibrant red hair, full lips into a broad smile, and dark brown eyes glowing while holding her accreditation in hand. Catching herself admiring her lady in that striking uniform, Waverly thought she’d never be interested in someone like Nicole. Not because she was a woman, but because Nicole was someone with so much passion, gusto, and bravado, that Waverly doubted that anyone could find her to be that interesting. Most guys never took the chance to get to know her on a deeper, cerebral level; they just took her to be the cute Shorty’s waitress in tight outfits, flipping her extra tips in hopes of a little action. It made her sick to think about it again. Even Champ wasn’t any better, no matter how she hoped he’d be different.

But it was Nicole who marched straight through that false barrier and smacked right into Waverly’s heart. She went right for the jugular of Waverly’s mind and ability to investigate the demonic chaos that erupts in Purgatory, and not once did Nicole back down from it. She gave Waverly credibility for being a strong woman with a mind for research and forensics. She was beautiful in her analytical nature, breaking down components and analyzing the minute details in the constant search for the, “why?”

Nicole would always prick Waverly’s mind and barrage her with questions about motive’s and intent; the search for symbols and hidden meanings, everything that Waverly could passionately discover and discuss and Nicole never let her think less of herself; even when Waverly doubted her abilities. She wasn’t always right about everything, but it led to the next clue, the next step, the next tip. She would think herself into new possibilities and strategies, and because of critically thinking outside of the box, the Black Badge could trace historical patterns and leads that led to the catch of the next demonic activity that pulsed through the town.

“What the hell has been going on between those two lately anyway?” Nicole yelled back.

“The usual,” Waverly grazed her finger over the photo before setting it back down on the desk. “Dolls gets all, _‘I’m Deputy Marshall Dolls and what I say goes,’_ ” Waverly husked in her deepest voice to imitate Xavier Dolls. “You can imagine how well that went over.” Waverly continued to finger the secretariat when she caught a glimpse of a manilla envelope peeking out from one of the drawers in the desk. Her curiosity piqued by the rushed stuffing away of the envelope. It was in juxtaposition to how Nicole would usually handle her mail and other important papers.

“Oh, I bet Wynonna was all over that shit!”

“When isn’t she!?” Waverly piped back, “She took him to the mat and laid a ‘bitch smackdown' as she says.”

“So basically what you mean is, Dolls won the match?”

“Yeah, but don’t tell Wynonna that.” Waverly said, “I told her that I’m telling everybody that she finally got her first cut into him.”

“He doesn’t seem to be the relenting type.”

“Oh he’s not, but you know Wynonna, she’ll cook something up to get even. She’s never backed down.”

Curiosity was pinging at Waverly still gazing at that envelope. It was taunting her to reach in and pull it out, but she knew she shouldn’t, it was Nicole’s things, and Waverly never violated that space even though Nicole did when she withheld her DNA test results.

“No, I can’t,” she whispered herself, “It’d be rude, and I trust her.” _Right?_ She questioned herself, but she couldn’t hide that tiny twinge of doubt that Nicole had done it before. Yeah, they kissed and made up, which was epic and hot, but why was the urge prickling at her? If she just got a glimpse of the front of it, it could ease her curiosity.

“Babe, I’m almost done.” Nicole said, “Now, don’t be all judgy and stuff. I’m not a natural at this as you are.”

“You’ll be fine honey,” Waverly said, hardly listening to her own words when her fingers found the handle of the drawer and the wood creaked when she opened it.

The corner of the envelope was crinkled from being jammed into the drawer. Feeling like her forensic self, Waverly tugged the edge of the cover and read the label. Divorce Decree - Petition for Dissolution of Marriage.

 _Why would it be here?_ She questioned herself. _Why wouldn’t she file it away in her locked cabinet? That’s where she keeps all of her important documents._ Doubt wriggled in her stomach. She knew Nicole always kept her finalized documents securely tucked away, but the gnawing in her stomach grew a mind of its own, and her hand felt the edging of the seal.

“No,” she said.

“What baby?”

Snapped out of her reverie Waverly stammered, “No, uh, nothing,” and slammed the drawer.

“What’s that?” Nicole questioned, coming around the corner.

“Nothing, I - uh… whoa!” Waverly muttered, wholly transfixed by Nicole’s transformation from a uniformed officer by day to Goddess in green by night.

“Waves, look at you!” The tall redhead strolled towards Waverly reaching for her hands. “You look stunning my lady.”

Barely able to utter a word, Waverly forgot what she was doing and thus couldn’t incriminate herself for snooping. She rambled, “Nicole…you… you're a vision."

“Oooo, sweetie that’s so kind of you.”

“No I mean it silly, just look at you.”

“Well I have been, for the past thirty minutes just trying to get these curls to hold still, and -” she stopped, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Waverly traced her hands over the material of Nicole’s dress, feeling the softness between her fingers. The green hues of the gown were striking on the beautiful redhead, flaring her hair to life and with the shape and volume of the curls she put in. It made everything about Nicole look voluminous and voluptuous. The gold necklace shimmering off her neckline, dipping past her clavicle into the curve her cleavage had Waverly gaping, she was hardly able to contain her fingers from caressing Nicole's chest.

“Waves, you’ve never looked at me this way!”

“You’ve never stunned me this way. You are drop-dead gorgeous Miss Haught!” Waverly pulled Nicole closer to her, “I’m reconsidering taking you out tonight.”

“What?! I didn’t put in all this effort -”

“So half the town can scoop you from under me,” Waverly finished. "yeah, I don't think so!"

“No one’s going to take me, love… I’m all yours tonight.” Nicole said. “And might I add, that you can look at me like this all night if you want,” and she dipped down to kiss Waverly gracefully on the cheek to the corner of her mouth.

“Don’t mind if I do,” Waverly breathed.

“But look at us,” Nicole turned them around to the face the living room mirror, standing close behind Waverly while wrapping her arm her waist, “we look amazing.”

“We do; maybe we shouldn’t go out.”

“Oh no, you’ve been poking at me for months to go to this with you, and I’ve spent over two hours - two hours - getting ready!” Nicole playfully argued, “We are going and then zipping right back!”

Waverly laughed as she looked at themselves in the mirror, Nicole tucking in behind her and touching Waverly's waist while she shined in her own cobalt blue strapless gown. Waverly had to admit that they were a striking pair, and she felt much pride in knowing she'd be on the arm of one of the attractive bachelorettes in the town. There were no promises between the two women, but they held a silent agreement between them to be each other’s only sweetheart, and Waverly clung to that, feeling that she finally did something right in her love life.

“Shall we,” Nicole uttered in her ear and Waverly flushed once more at the heat of her lover's breath on her lobe.

“Yes,” she said, grabbing her shawl and wrapping it around her shoulders, “and no talk about Dolls with Wynonna tonight.”

“With only you in my sight, who else would I want to talk too,” Nicole said ushering Waverly out the door.

* * *


	2. Wynonna's quips

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At the Purgatory Fall Festival. Waverly has a concerning conversation with her sister Wynonna.

Waverly proudly strolled into the Purgatory Association Community Hall on the arm of her lover, and the sight of the hall overtook her senses.

They were adorned with hundreds of shimmering lights reflecting a range of fall colours; yellows, oranges, browns, and reds. There were streamers, banners, and fall ornaments of acorns and leaves tethered to wreaths and tableware that made everything dance and glow while feeling cozy and intimate. It was mesmerizing.

Feasting for the eyes was row upon row of potluck tables; each fragrancing the room with aromatic dishes of the season; stuffed turkey, pot roast, garlic and onion mashed potatoes, and an assortment of multicoloured vegetables that had Waverly's mouth watering. The desserts alone could make anyone feel full — an array of pumpkin cakes and pies, volcano dark chocolate desserts and bite-size tarts of all varieties. Waverly glanced Nicole's temptation to eat the delicious food, however, what pulled Waverly's attention was the dance floor. It was wrapped with leaves that trickled down from the ceiling in light waves from the breeze blowing in through the windows. _Like falling in love,_ Waverly thought to herself while feeling another sense of warmth to the woman whose arm she entwined. There was chorus' of laughter while young children and adults were twirling on the dance floor catching leaves to the rhythm of the music.

"It's all so magical," Waverly whispered.

"Just like you," Nicole nuzzled back.

The warmth of this sight, however, did not last. It broke as a woman who wore a dress so tight and dark that it was in stark contrast to everyone in the room. In a severely tight all black leather clad gown, Wynonna Earp quickly approached.

“What took you so long?” Wynonna demanded, “Leaving me here with these fiends. Christ, you got a new chick, what’s Haught-topic gonna say about that? And good for you by the way.”

“This is Nicole, you idiot,” Waverly smacked her sister hard on the arm.

“Ow,” Wynonna pulled her arm away, “you’re kidding me,” she gawked at Nicole and turned to back to Waverly. “Well damn hot-stuff. You're smoking tonight.”

“Thanks, I guess-,” Nicole answered.

“I was talking about my sister, Red.” Wynonna cut her off.

“And doesn’t Nicole look great too!?” Waverly protested.

“Uh, sure, yeah tis... almost, the season.” Wynonna jibbed.

“Can we cut the quips for one evening - please?” Nicole pleaded to Wynonna.

“Why?” If I can’t make fun of you who am I gonna make fun of?”

“Stop it!” Cried, Waverly.

“What have I done to you Wynonna?”

“Enough Wynonna!” Waverly said, feeling irritated at her sister's continual cutting words to her girlfriend.

“Well then go and get us some shots, Christmas Tree. I’ll take three.”

Waverly was about to cut in again when Nicole held her back, “Don’t bother. What do you want baby?”

“Surprise me,” Waverly smirked, and Nicole purposefully wrapped her arms around Waverly, dipped her low and kissed her hard on the mouth, much to the chagrin of Wynonna.

“Oh pluuuuease,” Wynonna groaned.

“Be right back cutie,” Nicole winked at Waverly before she strolled over to the bar.

“Why do you keep being a bitch to her?” Waverly smacked her sister's arm again.

“Ow, Christ, will you cut that out!” Wynonna stroked her swelling arm. “I’m sorry, yeah fine; she looks great in red and green.”

"Well you're in your usual full black leather, ever thought of adding some colour?"

"I don't do primary colours."

“You know," Waverly started, feeling annoyed with her sister, "whenever your world goes to hell, you take it out on mine.”

“Well, I don’t like to suffer alone.”

“If you finally had the gumption to chose just one of those men," Waverly piped up, "maybe you wouldn’t have to suffer too much.”

“Oh, you’re giving me relationship advice?” Wynonna squeaked. "This is what, like, your first girlfriend, like ever?"

“Hey!” Waverly snapped, knicking her sister again then crossing her arms, getting tired of this conversation. “It’s not my problem you feel trapped between Doc and Dolls; you make your bed and sleep in it. You’re just jealous at what Nicole and I share.”

Wynonna huffed at that statement, but Waverly was unrelenting. She stared at her sister, hard, keeping her arms crossed and refusing to back down. Waverly knew Wynonna was right; this see-saw battle her sister had going on with these two men for months was driving her nuts. They both had purpose and value in Wynonna’s world; tough, protective, and steely-nerved men who couldn’t resist Wynonna’s sarcastic charm and deep-rooted troubles; but the truth is, even Waverly couldn’t decide who would be better suited to match Wynonna. And her sister was no further ahead in finding that answer.

Waverly watched her sister uncomfortably shuffle her feet and shrug her shoulders, finally admitting, “Yeah, okay…there, yeah you’re right. You happy now?!”

"Yes!" Waverly exclaimed, and she was pleased, but not at her sister's expense. “But I’m sorry you’re not.” Wynonna puffed again. “No, stop it,” Waverly said, watching her sister wither under the pressure that she put herself on. “You feel compelled to be with Doc because you both share Alice, and you want to be with Dolls because he doesn’t put up with your drama. He calls you out.”

“So what made you two come here tonight anyway?” Wynonna asked, deflecting the topic of digging into her deep emotions. “You two could’ve just stayed in, baked some Betty Crocker shit and gone all Martha Stewart on each other in your suburban home.”

Waverly had enough, she turned and stalked away from Wynonna. She knew when her sister was like this that her words were cutting and tried not to take them personally, but when it came to her relationship and the new life she was building with Nicole, she couldn’t handle her sister's insecurities anymore. It went beyond cruel. However, she didn't get far when her sister grabbed her arm and spun her around, eyes filled with regret.

“I know I'm a bitch alright… alright, a terrible bitch tonight. I’m sorry baby girl… shit, you’re the last person I ever want to hurt,” Wynonna softened her tone.

“Then why do you keep doing it?” Waverly demanded, her voice cracking as she felt the sting of tears in her eyes. “Why do you always have to knock down what I have, don't you see - ”

“Yeah, I do see!” Wynonna cut her off, “I see that you’re so goddamn happy that I’m afraid I’m going to lose you!”

"What?" Waverly muttered, but Wynonna wasn't quick to offer anything else. She stood there fidgeting while successfully repressing her emotions.

“So you want to push me away by ridiculing my life and insulting my girlfriend? I gotta tell ya Wynonna; it’s not the best way to keep me around.”

“I know baby girl,” Wynonna sulked. “I’m a shit sister, always have been.”

“You're not actually,” Waverly comforted, “you’ve just gone through a lot of stuff, but you have no skills to deal with it properly.”

“Gee, thanks for that.”

“Well, the truth hurts… but I’m also not leaving you.” She pulled Wynonna closer to her, wanting to break down that barrier she kept putting up. “I’ve finally got my sister back, and you think the last thing I want to do is to you leave you? It’s like you hardly know me at all.”

Waverly watched her sister closely; there was something more to this that she wasn't saying. Nicole and Wynonna quipped many times before, but not like this. Something was greatly bothering her sister.

“No baby girl,” Wynonna softened her voice, “it’s that I’ve never known you to be this happy.” She paused, taking a look around for where Nicole might be, not wanting to be overheard by the tall redhead. “So yeah I’m a bit jealous. You’ve got a great life now, people are finally taking you seriously, and you’re getting all the love you deserve. And you do deserve it.” Waverly felt the tears stream down her cheeks. “So it scares me, alright? Scares me to hell that it’s all too good to be true, ’specially in this goddamn town.” Wynonna stopped, and Waverly could tell she was thinking deep; she always wrinkled her forehead and pursed her lips like she wanted to withhold the thought before it escaped through her mouth.

"What are you talking about?"

"Whenever good shit goes on too long, something's about to fuck it up," Wynonna answered and Waverly could feel her sisters body tense up.

"Wynonna, what are you talking about?"

"The Boundary," Wynonna hushed.

“Why?” Asked Waverly, suddenly feeling a pang of worry. “Is there something’s wrong?”

Wynonna glanced at her younger sister, before turning away. “I’ve got a feeling baby girl… a real sick feeling about it.”

Waverly hated seeing her sister distraught like this but knew that when Wynonna got a gut feeling this deep, it usually spelt trouble. For everyone.

"Is this why you're being -"

"A bitch, yeah," Wynonna admitted. "My usual go-to response. I'm tense alright, I deflect and break shit... ugh," Wynonna moaned, the weight of this feeling pulling her downward. "Shit Waverly, it's like you hardly know me at all."

"That's not fair."

"No... you're right. Sorry."

"What do you mean with the Boundary? What's going on with it? We secured it months ago."

"Dolls and I have been patrolling it, and something feels off. Doc saw some cracks in the ground that weren't there before. We've been doing rounds but - "

"What? Why didn't you tell me?" Waverly asked, feeling concern ripple through her body.

"You were too busy playing house - sorry - having a good time with Nicole. I didn't think this was going to be a problem." Wynonna paused, "And I knew how you felt about it."

The Boundary around the Ghost River Triangle had been weakening every since Willa attempted to cross the border with Bobo and Peacemaker. Waverly had felt it then. She knew when the demon entered her that something had been ripped open; the ground violated somehow. She never understood at the time that her possession would give her a deeper insight into the area and the vulnerability it would place unto everyone. Since they banished the demon from her, Waverly assumed that the Boundary would once again take hold. They made sure of it. With the help of the Iron Witch, they reinforced the border by placing wards around it, but the ground had been volatile; trembling. Black Badge kept an eye on it, but they couldn’t always be there around the clock, and Nicole’s department had its hands full as it was trying to keep Purgatory safe.

"I knew," Waverly admitted. Wynonna's stunned reaction said it all. "I felt it when I was possessed that the ground was weak, but I thought we secured it."

“Wait, you knew?” Wynonna asked.

“Well I didn’t know it had anything to do with the Boundary, I mean I was possessed at the time, right? I didn’t know it was weakening it. I thought Willa did that.”

“She did,” Wynonna pulled her in, “it’s not your fault baby girl. I was possessed too and didn’t know.”

“What did you feel when it happened?”

“Nothing as intensely as you and I didn't feel anything around the Boundary. Remember, I didn’t have the strength to hold off the demon possession as you did; to understand it like you. I didn't have any sense of the Boundary at all.”

“So what does that say about me then?” Waverly worried.

“That you’re greater than it was!” Wynonna cupped Waverly’s face forcing her to look at her and not fall into insecurity that Waverly could sometimes do when she felt she was to blame. “That Angel that is part of you kept you safe, protected and guarded you against being corrupted by that demon.”

“Yeah.” Waverly whimpered. She knew her sister was right, but it didn’t mean she didn’t feel rips of guilt at times knowing that she’d asked Nicole to shoot Wynonna during her possession. Even her part Angel blood couldn’t prevent that guilt from rising.

“Look,” Wynonna exhaled, “I’m sorry about Nicole okay, she’s a…” Wynonna was trying to find the right words and was screwing up her face in concentration. “…she’s one of the good ones.” And the truth was in Wynonna’s eyes. “A keeper. I just - ” Wyonna struggled to find the words again. "I got this feeling, and I can't shake it. Like it has something to do with you."

"Why me?" Waverly asked, surprised.

"'Cuz you've got good shit going on in your life right now. And I freak when too much good shit is happening."

Just hearing her sister’s words made Waverly’s heart melt a smidge. It wasn’t like Wynonna to give compliments very often, but when she did, something was yielding inside her sister that made her vulnerable and beautiful. This emotion is what Waverly thought was always Wynonna’s greatest strength, not the sarcastic warrior; those were her skills, but the ability to bend and give in to her true feelings. Waverly caved and hugged her sister.

“Okay, okay… don’t let Nicole see me like this alright.”

“I’ll never yield the greatest strengths about you Wynonna.”

“My mouth?” Wynonna jabbed.

“You’re compassion, silly.”

“Especially that! Don’t do that,” Wynonna said, pulling away from Waverly in time to see Nicole approaching with drinks in hand. “I’ve got a reputation to keep. Listen, let's keep this between us right now okay?"

"Sure."

“I’ve left your’s at the bar,” Nicole said to Wynonna with a purposeful smile. They all looked over and saw three shots glasses full to the brim and on fire. “Consider it a toast from me.”

“Haught-shots eh?” Wynonna smirked, “Red, you’re starting to get to know me. My type of woman.”

“Not in the slightest,” Nicole replied while offering Waverly her cocktail and tugging her away to another corner of the room.

Leaving Wynonna to march to the bar on her own, Waverly watched her sister pull one of the flaming shot glasses, toast Nicole and down the fiery blaze of liquor in one gulp; then the next, and finally the last. Wynonna gave a wicked smile like it was nothing she couldn’t handle, only to rear her head back as her mouth scorched, and she began choking.

“What did you put in there?” Waverly asked.

“I tripped the Tabasco,” Nicole replied.

Wynonna was gasping and coughing so loudly she was attracting an audience. This was precisely what Nicole had been planning by the wicked grin she wore on her face and the twinkle in her eyes. Waverly couldn’t help but chuckle a little seeing her girlfriend’s take no bullshit kind of response, but she wasn’t going to show her sister that. A little bit of retaliation would keep Wynonna on her toes, and she loved the way Nicole wouldn’t put up that kind of shit. She was happy to be pulled into a corner of the room.

* * *


	3. The Dance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'm yours." The first dance of Waverly and Nicole

The two women strolled together across the hall adoring the decorations while passing kind, “hello’s” to the townspeople of Purgatory. Everyone seemed especially on good terms this evening, but Waverly could pick out a comment or two, or the occasion gawk at the two of them, but she made no attempt to hide that she is with the town’s Sheriff and she couldn’t be happier about it.

Across the room, everyone could still hear Wynonna gasping and cursing away.

“I’m not sure you needed to be that cruel, honey.” Waverly teased as the two of them parked themselves into a corner.

“C’mon Waves, you know she had that coming - for a while now.” They both continued to watch Wynonna suffer in a not-so-silent fashion, and Nicole was particularly pleased with this get-even technique. “She seems to be in good hands,” Nicole remarked as they witnessed Wynonna elbow one man in the face who hands were not where Wynonna approved while nailing another man in the groin. Both the women groaned, “Ouch….ooooo.”

“Yup, you’re right, she’ll be okay,” Waverly said and pulled her focus back onto her partner. “You know what would be nice right now?” She said, grabbing Nicole’s hand and pulling her onto the dance floor.

“Waves?” Nicole’s voice dipped into a panic.

“Dance with me?” Waverly pleaded.

“You know I don’t dance…I, uh -”

“Then trust me, because I do,” Waverly whispered. “And I love this song.”

“I do trust you, you know I do but -”

Waverly held her girlfriend's gaze and tugged a little more, “I want to share you; here, in this space. I want people to see just how happy I am with you.” Waverly said, seeing the panic rise in Nicole’s face; even looking flushed. “All you need to do is follow my lead and keep your focus on me. Don’t look at anyone else.”

Waverly found a spot just shy of the middle dance floor and nudged between other dancing couples.

“I only look at you,” Nicole said.

“Good.” Waverly leaned in, wrapping her arm around Nicole’s neck while placing Nicole’s arm around her own waist. “And then I’ll take this hand…” Waverly took Nicole’s other free hand and entwined their fingers together, pulling herself in a little tighter, “…then we move a little closer. See? And you keep looking at me… only at me. Not too difficult is it?” Waverly said, feeling the heat of their bodies rise through their gowns, and she smirked that sideways smirk that Nicole loved.

“I could, maybe, get used to this,” Nicole whispered, tracing Waverly’s chin with her thumb.

“That’s the idea, silly,” Waverly said, slowly swaying them in a circular motion. “I knew you had rhythm.”

Nicole chortled softly. “It’s like sauntering in circles, Waves.”

“So what’s there to complain about then?” Waverly teased, driving Nicole crazy with her sideways smile. As predictable, Nicole tucked in the corner of her bottom lip with her teeth, knowing this would drive Waverly crazy, and it did. It was a fine move, and it had Waverly rippling on the inside.

“You sure know how to get to me, woman.” Nicole murmured, tilting her head downward, opening her mouth in hopes of stealing a kiss, but Waverly taunted her and drew her head back slightly just enough to graze Nicole’s lips and breath in her lover’s scent; soft, alluring, and dreamy, just like the vanilla dipped donuts that were her favourite.

But it was hard to resist Nicole, she was so close; her chest pinned firmly against Waverly’s, and she could feel those firm breasts pressing into her body. Those lips were shimmering in gloss so Waverly lifted herself onto her toes and skimmed Nicole’s lips again, teasing her once more and driving her lover crazy. She could feel that same heat rising within her like she did earlier that evening while hearing her partners whispered throaty moan.

“You really, really, know how to get to me woman,” Nicole repeated, looking flushed and slightly wobbly.

Waverly held onto her more tightly and began to sing softly to the song they were dancing too.

 _“I wear your winter coat_  
_The one you love to wear_  
_So I keep feeling close_  
_To us beyond compare_  
_The moment we can have_  
_You catch me in your eyes_  
_That beauty on my pillow_  
_That holds me in the night_  
_And I will find my strength to untame my mouth_  
_When I used to be afraid of the words_  
_But with_ you _I've learned just to let it out_  
_Now my heart is ready to burst_  
_'Cause I, I feel like I'm ready for love_  
_And I wanna be your everything and more_  
_And I know every day you say it_  
_But I just want you to be sure_  
_That I'm yours.”_

Waverly finished the chorus, and Nicole’s eyes locked onto hers while she let her tears flow freely. “Where did - ”

“It’s the song we’re dancing too,” Waverly said.

“It’s not yours?” Nicole asked.

“I wish,” Waverly chuckled, “It’s called ‘Yours’ by Ella Henderson. It’s beautiful. I love her lyrics.” They continued to sway gently to the song. “I wish I could write something that beautiful… for you.”

“You don’t need to write it; you can sing it like that… you had me at ‘I wear your winter coat.’” Nicole chuckled, and Waverly smiled with her.

“I mean what the song says, Nicole.” Waverly stopped their swaying, “That I’m yours. I don’t want to be anywhere else, with anyone else.”

“Waves,” Nicole purred, yielding to her desire and pressing her full lips to Waverly’s. “That means so much to me.” She parted just long enough to take another breath, but Waverly just wanted those lips on her, those arms around her. She tugged at Nicole’s ginger hair with her palm, crushing her with her lips, and parting Nicole’s lips with her tongue.

“I think we need to go back to your place,” Waverly hushed, “now.”

“I’m gonna put the sirens on.”

“Hey lovebirds!” Wynonna announced. “Knock that shit out. We’ve got business to take care of.”

“Noooo!” Waverly groaned, “Go away.”

“Are you kidding me, Wynonna?!” Nicole shouted, once again ruining a magical moment. “C’mon!”

“Hey, love waits for no man… or woman. Right?”

“It’s time that waits for no man,” Nicole said.

“Yeah well, same same, and times-a-ticking ladies! The Boundary just snapped.”

“What?!” Waverly and Nicole said in unison.

“Yeah, so let’s pitter-patter. Doc’s on border patrol, but he can’t hold it down all by himself.” Wynonna jabbed with her thumb towards the exit. “Let’s move Haughtties.”

Waverly looked longingly at Nicole, slowing her breath and feeling defeated. “One night, can we just have -”

“Soon baby, c’mon. I swear.” Nicole bent low and gave her a fast and hard kiss. “Ugh, damn woman. C’mon. Let’s follow your demon sister.” Nicole laced her fingers within Waverly’s tugging her towards the exit while Waverly groaned.

* * *


	4. The Calling

With the sirens wailing above them, the three women were blistering through town in the squad car hurrying to reach the Boundary. Waverly felt squished in the front seat between Nicole and Wynonna; she didn’t mind sitting so close to Nicole, but the console was uncomfortable.

“Stop squirming,” Wynonna said.

“You try sitting in the middle of this. It’s not exactly a cushion,” replied Waverly. “You could’ve sat in the back, you know?”

“Hell No,” said Wynonna, looking out through the passenger window “too many memories.”

Waverly and Nicole looked over at Wynonna, but she wore a deep concern on her face.

“What is it?” 

“I haven’t heard from Dolls all day. Did he contact you?”

Waverly checked her phone, but she only received messages from Jeremy and Henry, the same cue to call that Wynonna had. “No, nothing. I don’t think there’s anything to be concerned about though; I’m sure he’s fine.”

“Yeah, but this isn’t like him. When duty calls, he’s the one splashing my face with cold water to get my ass in gear.”

“When was the last time you heard from him?” Nicole asked.

“Ugh… sometime this morning,” Wynonna glanced at her phone again. She had dialled Dolls’ number a handful of times since they got in the car, but all the calls went unanswered.

“Did you two have a fight or something?” Nicole asked again, and Waverly was grateful that Nicole wasn’t making any mention or sign that they talked about the fight those two had earlier. She gave her a soft wink.

“Listen Haught-pursuit, just put the pedal to the metal, alright?”

“Wynonna!” Waverly said softly but sternly.

“Sorry Red, it’s just-”

“Don’t worry about it, I’d be concerned too,” and Nicole grabbed Waverly’s hand and gave it a tight squeeze. “We’re almost there.”

And it didn’t take long for all them to notice that something was wrong near the Boundary. Gale force winds whipped them to and fro, and Nicole barely kept the car under control. The wind pounded the vehicle ramming indents into the sides.

“Get out! Now!” Wynonna screamed.

“Wynonna! This isn’t safe!” Nicole yelled over the thundering howls of the wind. “We’ve got to turn around!”

“No!! Doc is out there!”

Wynonna yanked on the handle of the door, but it wouldn’t budge, Nicole veered the car hard left and became parallel with the wind. The three women squeezed themselves out the passenger door taking cover alongside it. The wind whipped around the squad car pinning the women against it while twisting and slashing their gowns, tearing the material into shreds.

“Keep low!” Nicole yelled, covering Waverly with her body, but the thrumming of the wind was so deep and hollow; interwoven with high shrills of cracks; that it pounded in her ears. These were sounds Waverly never heard before, and she thought that whatever was in that Boundary was breaking to pieces.

“What the hell?” Wynonna snapped. “It’s a goddamn tornado! In Purgatory!”

“No…it’s not,” Waverly said, but neither of them could hear her, the sound too deafening.

Waverly couldn’t confirm what was happening, but once she stepped out of the car the energy pulses ripping through the air were calling to her. It wasn’t a tornado, but an energy field fuelled by something that wasn’t of this earth. She knew it. She felt herself rise, but it wasn’t out of her own volition; she had to get through the storm.

“What are you doing?!” Nicole screamed, yanking her back down. Wynonna bellowed before Waverly could answer.

“There!” She said, “I see Doc!” They all watched Henry combat a force that nearly barrelled him over. Through the swirling dust, he hollered and flailed his arms. With his face screwed in intensity, he was yelling something, but nothing could be heard. Wynonna chased after him.

“Wynonna!” Waverly and Nicole cried out, but it was too late, she ran. Again, Waverly felt the impulse to rise.

“No baby, it’s too dangerous!” But this didn’t shake the urge to get to the centre of the storm; instead, it increased it, and Waverly knew she needed to get to the vortex.

“Honey, I’ve got to go! I can see it!”

“She what?!”

Looking through the swirling vortex of debris, Waverly saw that the ward towers blew apart. This force of energy tossed the wreckage around like shrapnel, pummelling trees and bushes and cratering the ground with indents the size of boulders. But it wasn't just wind, it had a sucking sensation like it was pulling something back in and pushing something back out. The lightning flashes were coloured and erratic, some were even black. Whatever this force was Waverly couldn’t see it, but she could see through it. She felt its pulsations undulating throughout her body almost in recognition; like it knew her, called to her. All her senses were heightened and ignited. _Is this a demon force?_ She questioned herself. _It couldn’t be, that was destroyed._ And it didn’t feel demonic, it felt… angelic somehow.

Waverly allowed the inner force to pull her upright towards the vortex, and even though the storm wreaked havoc all around her, she couldn’t feel it.

“What are you doing?!” Nicole yelled again, and Waverly thudded hard to the ground as Nicole tackled her, shielding her from the twisting matter. “You’re going to get yourself killed!”

“No I won’t,” Waverly said, and she felt a stillness in her response. A tranquil feeling wrapped inside of her. She didn’t have to force anything; she didn’t have to yell, and she didn’t have to fight this force. It wanted her; it needed her.

Waverly could only grasp a sense of being pulled; _no not pulled_ , she thought because nothing was pulling her, it was drawing her. It was calling to her through the vibrations she could feel encapsulating her body.

“I need to go it,” Waverly said.

“Are you crazy!?”

But Waverly didn’t have time to explain, couldn’t find the words to tell her lover that she knew that she could stop the vortex. She realized the stillness through her veins was calm and gentle; it’s the contrast, she thought again, I’m the contrast!

“You have to let me go, Nicole!” She pleaded.

“No way!!” Nicole shrieked and pinned her even harder, but she couldn’t stop Waverly from squirming and wriggling out from under her. It was like this quiver in her body was releasing her from Nicole’s grasp; aiding her. The more Nicole resisted, the more the vibrations persisted. She had to get to the eye of the vortex. Something was waiting for her there.

“I’ll be alright honey,” she held Nicole’s fearful gaze, slowing her breath and repeating in a whisper, “I’ll be alright,” and Waverly knew she would be, the force within her knew it too, it was telling her that all will be well.

She grabbed Nicole’s hands and gently peeled away from her lover's protective brace. She could feel Nicole hesitate, the tightness in her hands wrapped around Waverly’s, but Waverly didn’t stop. She pulled herself upright, her gown ripping and flapping around her limbs. She could barely hear Henry and Wynonna’s words coursing through the high winds.

Waverly moved to the vortex, the wind, the shrieking, the tearing of her dress were no match for the desire inside of her. Every step brought her closer to the vortex, and each step told her what she needed to do.

It’s in the vortex, it spoke to her. Save it. And Waverly trusted the feeling.

“What the hell are you doing?!!” Wynonna cried, but Waverly didn’t even glance at her sister, she held out a hand to wave her down, to stay down and be safe while she continued to move forward. It was like her feet were grounding into the earth, keeping her balanced and upright. She could sense the cuts and slashes that were digging into her body, but she felt no pain; no coldness.

Waverly glimpsed further into the vortex now. Indeed there was something inside of it, some figure. _Was it human?_ _Was it a demon or revenant trapped in the clutches of this wind?_

Waverly couldn’t make out the full form, but it was wielding an object. _Was it creating the chaos?_ The closer Waverly approached, the more this figure wasn’t being tossed about but looked like it was trying to control or contain the force it was fighting.

Closing in, the air and shrapnel began to cease, and now Waverly could see clearly what was standing in front of her; a woman.

This woman dressed in an attire that looked like clothing from the old west. She wore dark brown leather pants and boots with some kind tunic that was slashed open by the wind, and a black Stetson that was not so dissimilar to Henry’s. She could almost be a female image of Henry himself.

The woman turned to Waverly and Waverly gasped at the deepest emerald green eyes she’d ever seen. They were so striking that Waverly felt it cut right through her.

“Miss Waverly,” the woman croaked. The dirt clogged her throat made her voice sound rough and husky. Waverly had no idea who this woman was and how she knew her, but the calling in her chest kept her moving towards her.

Waverly saw the objects in the woman’s hands, whips. That was the cracking sound she’d heard earlier. Two long leather bound straps that she twisted and snapped to perfection, keeping whatever was trying to grab her at bay. “No Miss Waverly, stand back!” The woman croaked again and coughed, sounding very Georgian.

“I’m here for you,” Waverly said, knowing it was true. The calling was tugging at her to save this woman, to protect her; the fight almost extinguished in this woman's body.

“I can’t… hold it… the Boundary…” The woman was crying. The strain of holding this force was cutting into her features.

The tiny brunette reached her in time as the final strength of this woman evaporated and Waverly caught her in her arms, bringing her to the ground safely.

“It’s okay, I’ve got you.”

“How did… you - ” the woman mumbled. Waverly held her close and closed her eyes. She felt the words work through her until she spoke.

“You are safe; you are safe, you are safe…” Waverly repeated the words over and over like a mantra. The more she said it the more the vortex collapsed around them. The calling inside of her was settling the wind, and she could feel the vibrations start to cease within her body, setting herself back to normal. Whatever she was meant to do; save this woman, Waverly had done it. She was feeling a sense of peace within her and thought that it must be the part angel aspect of her that controlled this chaos.

She heard the rush of pounding feet approaching, voices mingling together, “Jesus baby girl - Waves!! - baby, you alright - what the hell happened? - Who is this?”

She felt Nicole’s arms brace her, saw Henry and Wynonna out of the corner of her eye, but the focus was on this woman. Henry took one look at her, and like Waverly, he gasped.

“It can’t be,” he cried softly, as the woman passed out.

“Baby are you okay?” Nicole stammered out. “Who is this?”

“I don’t - ” but Waverly didn’t need to finish her sentence as Henry bent down and looked at the woman with a devastated and shocked expression.

“You know her?” Wynonna asked.

Struck dumb, Doc could only muster, “Yeah, she’s my sister.”

* * *


	5. Chapter 5

Whether it was the exertion that caused this woman to pass out or some injury, nobody knew, and no could wake her — not even Henry.

"You never said you had a sister," said Wynonna.

"Because I didn't."

"You just said -"

"I know what I just said, Wynonna." Henry snapped, "My sister died before I was born."

"What?" The ladies said in unison.

"Ain't nobody has eyes like those; 'cept my mama, and my sister lived long enough for mama to see those same eyes reflectin' back at her when she was born. That's how I know. Mama told me."

"Jesus," cried Wynonna. "I'm sorry."

Henry grabbed the hand of the woman and looked at her thoroughly; the attire, the Stetson, the whips. "But she didn't live long enough. Died before her first birthday. Damn," he said. "Mama called her Eleanora, after her grandmother."

"Eleanora Holliday," whispered Waverly.

Nicole rejoined the group, "The ambulance is on the way. Nedley said the nothing happened in the town other than a strange vibration," she looked at everyone. "What, what did I miss?"

"No one can wake her," Waverly said, quietly pulling Nicole off to the side and filled her in.

"What? Then how does he know for sure?"

"He just does, and I think he's right."

"How do you know that?"

"I don't know Nicole, I feel it. Like it's the truth."

"Oh, so you're a lie detector now are you?"

"What?" Waverly stammered, shocked at the tone Nicole took with her, but before she could question Nicole, Jeremy Chetri entered the debris field.

"Whoa! This is craaaaazy!" Jeremy cried as he crawled over the waste towards the group.

"No shit Sherlock, get over here with that thing," Wynonna ordered, and Jeremy already had his diagnostic tools and probe ready. "Was Dolls at the office?" She quickly added.

"Uh, no, haven't seen him since this morning after your - " but he cut himself off, "Since the... Uh - "

"Just do your thing, Jeremy," Henry covered, "Can that tell what's wrong with her?"

"Ummm, no, it's not like that" Jeremy mumbled, "I'm not a doctor. I was scanning the field over the Boundary and got some very strange readings."

"Just check her over alright!" Henry snapped.

"Uh, yeah, of course, Henry." Beads of sweat peered on Jeremy's brow while he waved his probing rod over Eleanora's body and head. His tablet pinged and flashed with various sounds and coloured charts. "Oh, this is weird."

"What?!" Henry panicked, "Is she alive? What's wrong? What the hell is that thing flashin' for?"

"Yeah, no, she's got vitals - It's just...uh - " Jeremy faltered under the pressure of Henry's gaze.

"Well don't be shy now friend, tell me what's goin' on with my sister." Henry's breathing was heavy in Jeremy's face making the smaller man squirm.

"You know Henry, I do like it when you're close to me, but you're - "

"Doc, c'mon," pulled Wynonna, taking Henry's arm and easing him out of Jeremy's space, "Give the kid some room, you're hovering like a parent."

Waverly lowered herself to see the readings displayed on the monitor, "It's okay, don't let him bother you."

"Normally I don't mind - " he glanced at the readings, "Waverly, does this look right to you?"

Waverly read the signals on the monitor; she'd seen similar signs before in Purgatory, but not in a human.

The probe rendered scales of unusual activity in the town when demonic forces penetrated the area. They flashed in reds and dark blues often pinpointing locations when demonic activity was high, but these readings were scaling in greens. Most notably, all around Eleanora's body. The rest of the area around the border was reading in grey, as if -

"It's like the area around here is dead, but she -"

"She's alive," finished Waverly.

"It's like she's human, I mean the readings confirm human -"

"But someone more - advanced?" Waverly glanced at Jeremy. They both took a moment to double check the readings when Jeremy's probe grazed Waverly on her arm.

"It looks like you have some of it too. Whatever she's made of."

"Well, I held her in my arms. So maybe the energy field somehow wrapped around me?"

"What do you think it means?" Jeremy whispered, cautious that Henry might overhear and use the probe on him for something else.

"Well, she's not human."

"That's pretty much obvious, but neither are you," he stopped himself as Waverly tossed him a shocked expression. "Well, I mean, that uh, it's true, you're part human and -"

"Part Angel. But she's not reading like an angel."

"No, not the extent that you do, her readings are just... I don't know, different. Where did she come from, maybe that'll give us a clue?"

"From here," Waverly pointed to the ground that they sat on, "this is where I saw her, this is where I found her," and Jeremy looked as confused as her. They rose and scoped the area. The dark sky and debris field made it impossible to see if there were fissures in the ground. "We're not going to find much of anything in this light."

"But she's no demon or revenant, so what does that mean?"

"Hopefully when she wakes she can tell us."

The ambulance blared into position and everyone let the paramedics do they job as they hovered around Eleanora. Henry stayed with his sister, giving the paramedics whatever information he knew; which was nothing.As Waverly and Jeremy continued to scour the area for any evidence there appeared to be no signs of where, or how Eleanora came to this spot. 

Nicole resurfaced only to show up empty-handed and completely dumbfounded, looking particularly upset.

"The problem is," Jeremy continued, "we don't exactly know what we're looking for."

"I've got nothing," Nicole stated, hands on her hips and looking ruffled after tonight's events.

"Just keep scoping the area and see what you come up with Jeremy." Waverly pulled Nicole off to the side, "Are you okay, sweetheart?"

"Yeah," Nicole blunted.

"Hey," Waverly tugged her arm, "What's going on?"

"Waverly!" Wynonna interrupted, "Doc and I are going to follow the ambulance back to the hospital and see what we can find out. Let me know if you hear from Doll's alright? All this is getting goddamn ridiculous!" She paused, "You two alright, heading back to the homestead?"

The brunette looked at her girlfriend who displayed no facial response, "No, I think I'll head back with Nicole to her apartment if that's okay with you?" Waverly requested, looking at her partner.

"Whatever Waves," Nicole stalked to the car leaving the two women alone.

"Whoa, what's up Haught-tamale's ass?"

"Don't know," Waverly mumbled. Concerned, she took off to catch up with Nicole at the squad car and called back to her sister, "I'll talk to you later."

* * *

The two women drove back to the apartment in an uncomfortable silence. Continually aware that Nicole’s stillness was an in-depth conversation waiting to happen, Waverly sensed it was going to be a long night. 

Looking at her girlfriend's pale face, intense eyes on the road, and her pursed lips, it was challenging for her not to engage with her partner. This dismissive treatment led Waverly to think that she had done something wrong, but couldn't understand what she did to provoke such tension between them. She was tempted to start a conversation, at least do something to break the discomfort in the car, but she didn't know where to begin. 

Waverly glanced outside the window trying to make sense of what she accomplished at the Boundary tonight. It was unlike anything she'd experienced before, but lately, she felt more compelled than ever to trust the Angelic part of her that was guiding her. Waverly wondered if the passing of her father, Julian had any part to play in the heightened awareness of her gifts. She was curious if he was in some way still connected to her. 

_I would sense him though, wouldn't I?_

Even if she didn't, Waverly knew she wasn’t in any danger tonight, but she couldn't ignore that it may have disturbed Nicole.

As she glanced back over at her partner; studying her and seeing the dried mascara streaks on the redhead’s face, it only made Waverly swoon even more at her beauty. She didn’t like seeing Nicole upset, but the passion in which Nicole cared for her was nothing short of a miracle in her eyes. It was completely unfamiliar to have someone care so deeply that during some moments, Waverly had to question herself if this relationship was even real. 

Before Wynonna showed up back in Purgatory, there weren’t too many people, outside of Gus, that put themselves out there for Waverly. That’s what that dried mascara meant to the brunette. The effort Nicole put into this relationship.

Watching her girlfriend white knuckle the steering wheel, Waverly chanced a moment to reach for one of the dried black marks. Instead, she startled Nicole.

“Oh gawd, I’m sorry,” Waverly trembled, whipping her hand away as Nicole jumped.

“No… I, uh, was just lost in thought.”

“I could tell.”

“Why’d you do that?” 

“I…” but Waverly didn’t know how to express the admiration yet awkwardness of the moment; this rising tension that she could feel building between them. “I just don’t want you to be mad at me.”

It was Nicole’s lengthy pause that made Waverly realize that she’d upset her girlfriend more than she knew and it made her shiver.It had never been like this between them, this cool staleness in the car.

Waverly watched as Nicole loosed another tear down her cheek and it became too much for her to bear.

“Stop the car,” Waverly said, “please, I can’t stand this,” but Nicole was on autopilot, “sweetheart please,” Waverly pleaded, her own eyes stinging. 

Nicole relented and pulled over into an outcropping of a dirt road, keeping her hands on the wheel. It wasn’t until Waverly took a closer look that Nicole gripped it so tightly to prevent her own hands from shaking.

“Nicole I’m sorry… please don’t be mad.”

Nicole let her tears flow and bowed her head until it touched the steering wheel. Waverly yanked off her seatbelt and pulled herself closer.

Nicole struggled to get the words out between waves of pent-up emotions. She turned to the younger woman, “It was just… I’ve never seen you like that, Waves.”

“Honey, like what?” Waverly stroked Nicole's hair, pulling it out of its weave, "please, you're scaring me."

“You weren’t you. You were something else.”

The memory of being possessed by a demon flashed into Waverly’s mind, but this experience was vastly different. Waverly didn’t feel possessed at all, in fact, she felt more like herself than she ever had before.

“But I wasn’t possessed, honey. I know what that feels like and this wasn’t that at all.”

“I know baby, I know. I’m not talking about possession.” Nicole said, and Waverly felt a deepening concern in the pit of her stomach grow as Nicole looked at her with fear in her eyes. “You walked right into a storm that should’ve killed you. It could have wrenched you apart and shredded - ”

“But it didn’t, sweetheart; I was safe, I was completely safe.”

“You didn’t look safe. You looked like someone who’s not even human.”

Waverly gently butted her head against Nicole’s, “I am part angel you know,” she cooed sweetly, hoping that some lightness would break into Nicole’s fear, but Nicole didn’t say anything. She loosened her reins on the steering wheel, but she was still shaken up. “Honey, I don’t understand why you are so upset. Look I’m fine, we all got out, okay?”

“You didn’t have thought of me when you walked into that vortex, no consideration of your life or mine!” Nicole screamed. “You just glided right up to that -”

“I glided?” Waverly asked and instantly regretted the question and interruption. Nicole’s face went from taut worry to exasperated disbelief. She just said what Nicole was claiming; she didn’t have thought to anything else.

“Whatever Waves,” and with that, Nicole shut down and started the car again, peeling off the dust road and filling the air with frustration.

Waverly leaned back into her seat and chose not to respond. She had enough experience to know that when Nicole went into shut down mode, it was best to wait for another time when she’d be open to talking again. However, she couldn’t get what her girlfriend had just said, _‘you glided.’_

 _Is that what I did?_ Waverly thought to herself. _Glided to Eleanora?_

Eleanora… Henry’s sister. Waverly couldn’t make sense of this anymore; exhaustion was setting in and so was the thumping in the back of her head, a warning that a headache was approaching.

Waverly chanced one more look over to Nicole, but she was deep in her own thoughts. She decided to let it be until they got back to the apartment. What would happen there, she had no idea.

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

The two women returned to the apartment late into the evening, and Nicole beelined it to the kitchen, yanking a beer from the fridge and swigging steadily. Waverly watched in disbelief knowing Nicole didn't drink all that often. She let it go and decided to have a shower, hoping clean skin would cleanse her emotions of guilt that Nicole's avoidance put her under. She left her girlfriend to her own devices.

Sitting on the closed lid of the toilet and fingering the shredded material of the gown she barely showed off, Waverly let the tears stream down her cheeks. Wiping them with the shards of the cobalt dress, she couldn't understand what happened tonight. Everything was going so smoothly; she felt beautiful, excited, almost desperate to share this evening with Nicole. The dress smeared the sadness across her face, a gown now completely unsalvageable. _It was so beautiful,_ she thought. A perfect compliment to the one Nicole wore and she craved to impress her lover with a full evening of entertainment, and quality time that they so rarely shared as a couple. Instead, it felt more like Purgatory had it out for the two of them, and once again, tonight was no exception. So Waverly would only allow herself a brief moment to grieve for an evening that almost lost. 

_But I’m not going to let this night get the better of me._

Standing up, and peeling off what was left of the gown, Waverly finally became aware of the scratches scraped over her petite body. She hadn’t felt the injuries when they occurred, but as she cleaned them with some peroxide, the sting made her feel alive. She winced, but it was a refreshing wince like she was going to take back the night somehow. Reaching for the shower faucet, she stopped when she heard Nicole’s voice coming from downstairs.

“Are you serious?… There’s no one else?… No, I don’t know all the details yet… Why don’t we talk in the morning once there’s confirmation?… Yeah, g’night.” Nicole sounded spent as she hung up the phone.

Waverly quickly turned on the water and stepped into the shower.

* * *

Tiptoeing softly down the stairs wearing a thin silk bedroom robe, Waverly saw Nicole sitting by alone by herself in the dark living room wearing her favourite night sweats. Even from behind Nicole looked tired, her shoulders slumped. She approached lightly bending over the back of the couch.

"Is everything alright?" Waverly asked, "I heard you talking to someone." 

"It's nothing. Work." Nicole replied shortly.

“Sweetheart, I’m sorry,” Waverly whispered brushing the red hair aside and kissing Nicole softly on the cheek. “You still upset?”

“You didn’t even check with me Waves," and this time Nicole's tone softened, "I’m the one who’s supposed to protect you,” she said, sipping on her beer.

Waverly maneuvered around the couch and placed herself on Nicole’s lap, straddling her legs and taking the beer out of her hands, resting it on the table. “In any normal world baby, yes, you protect me, and I love it. But I can also handle myself.” Waverly pulled herself closer to Nicole and nudged her way into her chest. “I love how you’re always looking out for me. I didn’t know what happened to me Nicole, okay? I just knew I had to get to whatever was waiting for me at the centre of that vortex. You have to trust me. I didn’t have time to discuss it with you because the calling was too strong, but I knew I was safe.”

“Listen to yourself?” Nicole replied, and she pushed Waverly’s torso off her body and stood to rise. “Something was waiting for you? A _‘calling’_?” Nicole’s face was incredulous. “What is this?” 

“Sweetheart I don’t know, but I’m trusting what I’m feeling,” Waverly pleaded, struggling to make sense of it all, “I think it's because the Boundary broke, but I'm not sure. I felt pulled, and all I know was that I had to go. I had to!” Waverly cried out, cradling the back of the couch as Nicole took her beer and went into the kitchen. “I can’t explain it to you because it’s never happened before, but I’m trying to figure it out. I don’t get why you’re still upset! I would never want to do anything to hurt you.”

“But you don’t involve me either, Waves! You could’ve died tonight, and you gave no thought at all for what it would do to me!” Nicole exclaimed, repeating the same words she spoke in the car, yet Waverly wasn’t feeling convinced by her argument. It wasn’t like this didn’t happen before; there were many instances where she was in a precarious position and reacted in desperate need. What was driving this argument?

“Honey, I wasn’t going to die, I was clear on that when I pulled out from under you.” Waverly felt frustrated with where this conversation was going. “What’s this insecurity? This isn’t making sense.”

Nicole guffawed flailing her arms about, spilling beer onto the floor.“Really, Waves? Really?

“You're angry about something, but it's not adding up here Nicole. We’ve been through a lot of demonic fluff before; why is this bothering you?”

Nicole pushed herself away, but Waverly grabbed her arm and forced her girlfriend to look at her. “No, you don’t get to leave whenever you think it’s convenient for you, you’re upset at me, but I don’t get to know why?”

“You called out to her okay!” Nicole fumed, backing herself up against the counter. "How the hell did you even know who she was?"

“I... what?” 

“You were calling her name the whole time. When you finally got there, all you did was cradle her in your arms and said that you got her. Don’t you remember?”

“I - ” Waverly stammered, scanning her memories but she could find no recollection of calling out to Eleanora. “I - I don’t remember that. I mean, I didn’t even know her name until -” she cut herself off but she couldn’t recall gliding either, and that's what Nicole saw her do; glide. _Was I so out of it that I can't remember what I did?_

“Well, what do you remember?” Nicole demanded, and Waverly relayed all that she could recall; see through the debris, grabbing Eleanora before she fell, and cradling the woman while saying she’d be all right.

“ _I’ve got you_ … that’s what you kept repeating, _I’ve got you.”_

“Yeah, okay… what’s wrong with that? She was dying - or looked to be anyway. We’ve helped out many people, what makes her so different that you’d be _this_ bothered by it.”

“Because I don’t trust her,” Nicole confessed. “The moment I could see her looking at you, I didn’t trust her.” Nicole took in another large breath as if stopping herself from saying anything more. She turned away from her partner.

“No, say it,” Waverly demanded, “You want too, so say it.”

Nicole gripped the counter tightly while her head bowed low, “You were looking at her in a way that you’ve never looked at me," she whispered. "There was something charged between you two, and it scared the hell out of me, okay?”

Waverly thought back to those emerald green eyes. Those piercing eyes that twisted right through to her core, like something so old and yet so wholly familiar. _So it was real._ She thought to herself, and Nicole saw it too.

“You’re right, baby,” Waverly acknowledge

“What did you say?” Nicole twisted around to face her.

“You’re right. I don’t remember calling out to Eleanora; I barely remember cradling her after she fell, but there was something in her eyes that I couldn’t pull away from,” Waverly confessed. “I’m not telling this to hurt you,” Nicole’s mouth stood agape. “But as I told you, I was _called_ to help her, and so I did. Whatever this connection is, I have no idea, it could be something angelic, but Nicole,” Waverly strode closer to her partner, “ _you are_ the love of my life. I wasn’t looking at her in the way I look at you or feel about you, that I know for certain. You are my world, the only person I want in my world.”

Nicole blinked unbelievingly at Waverly - speechless, but Waverly continued to keep eye contact. She risked moving in closer.

“I sang to you tonight because I meant every word of that song. I only wish it was mine to give to you.” Waverly felt the sting of tears as she watched her girlfriend, hoping for a reprieve of her anger. She chanced a few steps closer, and Nicole allowed the distance to close. “I wish I could say to you all the things that I feel in my heart but I can’t, because those words don’t exist.” She extended her hands and felt her girlfriend's cold hands grasp her own. She rubbed warmth back into them. “I don’t know who this woman is, I’ll let Henry and the gang figure that out, but sweetheart you have nothing to be upset over. Like the song says, _‘I’m yours.’_ If you have me, Nicole Haught, I’m always going to be yours.” Waverly's voice cracked expressing her truth, and Nicole’s face softened. Waverly stroked her face before wrapping her arms around Nicole’s neck pulling herself inward, breathing in the scent of the woman she loved.

“I’m sorry,” Nicole tightened her embrace of Waverly. “I’m not jealous of her… I was just afraid of what was going on with you tonight. "Okay okay,” Nicole accepted, “I was a little jealous. You got lost in your angel world, and then some beautiful woman gets rescued by you.”

“She’s not my beautiful woman,” Waverly whispered, grazing Nicole’s cheek and neck with her lips. “Now let me rescue you, my love.”

“Huh?”

“Let me remind you,” Waverly seduced, tugging Nicole out of the kitchen, “How I, as a human being, will show my love and affection for you.” Nicole blushed, and this had the potent magic that Waverly hoped. “In case you needed some reminding.”

“I - uh, well - I could use a refresher now and then,” Nicole teased, allowing herself to be pulled up to the bedroom by her petite lover, the tension releasing from her body.

* * *

Waverly slowly stepped back into the bedroom with Nicole tugging at the knot of her silk robe.

“Whoa!” said Nicole in amazement. “Was this the only thing you were wearing?”

“I did have plans for tonight you know, Miss Haught,” she winked, letting the robe slink off her shoulders, dropping to the floor.

“Whoa,” Nicole repeated.

This was the one thing that neither woman could be denied; their connection through lovemaking after each fight. It wasn’t that Waverly wanted to fight with Nicole, in fact, she hated it, it was like a piece of her was being torn apart, but when they could talk through things, the connection between them was undeniable. It was wave upon endless wave of ethereal energy that swayed between the two of them — a power that shifted within Waverly ever since the awakening of being part angel.

Waverly lightly padded across the room, “A little mood lighting, my lady,” she said, striking a match and letting the warm orange glow highlight the curves of her body before igniting the candles.

“Uh - ahem, yes please!”

Waverly felt Nicole’s eyes drink in every inch of her body; her lover's breathing turned short and heavy, and she languished in the sensation that just by being herself; her tiny petite self, she could have such an effect on her towering girlfriend. Smiling to herself, she heard Nicole's clothes quickly drop to the floor.

Lighting the final candle, Waverly felt Nicole’s nude body brush softly against her. Her skin prickled at the touch of Nicole’s breasts on her back, and her lover's strong hands reached around her waist, grasping her firm abdomen and began caressing their way upwards towards her orbs. Waverly leaned back, closing her eyes and indulging in the lips that nuzzled her neck, her earlobes, and her shoulders. A soft moan escaped her lips while she mouthed, _Nicole._

Relishing in the pleasant tingling sensation that coursed through her body, Waverly turned around and pressed her frame into her partner, nudging her towards the bed, needing to make love to Nicole.

Waverly skimmed her hands over the long-limbed body; endless landscapes for her to explore, and she did so thoroughly. She caressed and licked Nicole’s skin to the rhythm of her girlfriend’s exhales, filling Waverly with the desire of longing and appreciation. It was vulnerable for each of them as they took their pleasure to a new level — hands, limbs, and skin coalescing amongst each other.

Waverly guided Nicole onto her stomach, kissing her lower back and breathing in the scent of her girlfriend's pheromones; the aroma more present since her heightened abilities. Nicole had a mixture of sweet and salty, a perfect match for Waverly’s pallet. The salt of her physically active woman blended with the sweet fragrance of fruit and vanilla. She gently flicked her tongue over her lovers lower back feeling the tiny hairs on the tip of her tongue. Nicole gasped, taking in a deep breath while Waverly placed herself onto her lover's back, knowing her girlfriend loved the feeling of the weight and pressure of Waverly behind her. Her small, yet firm breasts poking into her back.

“Baby, what are you doing to me?” Nicole moaned, “You’re driving me crazy.”

“That’s the idea silly,” Waverly whispered, rubbing her body over Nicole’s back until Nicole arched upward and Waverly felt her body rise from the sheer strength of Nicole's toned body. She was quickly whisked around and placed under her girlfriend. Nicole swished her tongue over Waverly’s torso, making her moans increase in volume and intensity. She loved laying beneath her lover.

“You and your silly ideas drive me insane,” Nicole husked, rushing in with her mouth, not allowing Waverly to reply. Waverly’s lips were pried open by the swipe of Nicole’s tongue.

The rush of the moist tongue, and those full lips swept over her own, fuelling Waverly’s pulse and making various parts of her thrum and ache. A longing that needed to be fulfilled soon while sensing her lover was thirsting for the same.

Their hands groped and entangled with each others body until Nicole’s hand slid into Waverly’s heated groin and she gasped for air, yielding to the throbbing that was rippling from there. Waverly reached between Nicole’s legs and in the cadence of their movements, their exaltation rose with a crescendo and burst with a pleasure that they shared.

Looking into each other’s eyes, “There you are,” Nicole panted, her breathing laboured, “There’s my Waverly.”

Waverly felt the hot wet lips on hers, tasting the salt skimming from Nicole’s upper lip. She returned that kiss with a gentle passion of a woman who was pleasantly spent.

* * *

The sky was rustic orange, and the setting of the sun was magical from the deck of the Homestead. It was one of her favourite places to view the sunset, and the only thing that was missing was her partner.

"Honey, where are you?" Waverly called out, but she was met with no reply.

_She'll be here soon; she never likes to miss a sunset like this._

Waverly could hear the thudded footsteps coming from behind her. Nicole had a particular gait that Waverly knew was hers; there was a certain rhythm when she walked. 

"This is it, isn't it?" Waverly cooed, waiting for the arms of her partner to grasp her from behind, and her lover did just that. 

"Mmmmm," hummed Waverly, "that feels nice." She leaned back soaking in the warmth of the body behind her, letting go of all worries and focusing on being present with the woman she adored. Nothing could ruin this moment. She lazily stared at the setting sun, watching it sink behind the mountains in the fair distance. There was no place she'd rather be and no other person she longed for other than Nicole, but as she stared out into the distance, she was certain the sun was setting more rapidly than it should.

_Is that my imagination?_

The arms that wrapped her began to twist her around. Excitement grew within Waverly as knew she was going to look into the deep brown eyes of her love and - 

Waverly shook. They weren't deep brown - they were emerald green.

"Wake now Miss Waverly," Eleanora spoke, "We ain't got much time."

Waverly woke with a force that pulled her upright. The dream left her in a cold sweat.

"Oh, geez-Lousie," Waverly cried out.

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you've enjoyed the story thus far and feel satisfied.😉 I'm taking a wee break but will return to continue this journey. Thanks for your patience.


	7. The Voice in the Vortex

Waverly stood in front of the bedroom mirror, wrapped in Nicole’s favourite aqua green sweater, admiring herself. She loved the look and the shape that it filled out on her girlfriend; threads ripped at the edges of the neck and cuffs while accentuating all the right curves of Nicole’s body. Today Waverly wanted that reminder of her.

It was much too large for her petite frame, but Waverly draped herself into the sweater comfortably, letting it hang off of her slim figure while scrunching it tight and lifting it to her nose, savouring the lasting scent.

Things weren’t entirely peaceful with Nicole yet, even after their romantic romp the previous night, but Waverly wanted to ride this slow, give Nicole some space to settle down and realize there’s nothing to concern herself with in regards to Eleanora. _Eleanora! Damn, it!_ Waverly's body flooded with a cold panic as she remembered last night's dream. She gripped the sweater tighter.

Waverly had woke with a start, convinced that the dream was real. When she turned sideways to look at her sleeping lover, Nicole lay peacefully on her stomach and Waverly watched her lover’s back rise and fall with the breathing of someone in a deep sleep. Nicole looked so serene, the complete opposite to how Waverly had felt. _I can’t tell her. Not yet anyway._

Waverly had pulled herself out of bed and wrapped her bonus blanket around her, crouching by the window sill. She didn’t know what to make of what just happened in her dream, just that her body flushed at the images. She was sure it was Nicole. _What the hell?_

Wrinkling the sweater closer to her body, Waverly had purposefully set the images aside from last night in the hopes to forget them. She wanted to wait and see how Nicole would react over the next few days; see if that redheaded temper would simmer down, and at this point, it was best to avoid the topic. She didn’t want to deal with a reaction like the one she received last night, even though there was no truth to it, but she hated keeping anything from her girlfriend. However, this felt like extenuating circumstances, and adorning Nicole’s sweater helped keep the chill off that dream while continuing to remind her whom she loved most.

 _I’m not attracted to her though; I didn’t even have a chance to look at her, she just has…_ but Waverly didn’t know what Eleanora had that made her feel off kilter. _Was it her eyes?_ She questioned, _but I love Nicole’s eyes!_ She affirmed to herself, and yet still unable to pinpoint exactly what would draw her attention to this mysterious woman. _So what was Nicole seeing? Did anyone else see anything? I’ll talk to Wynonna_ , she thought, _she’ll know what to do._

Waverly stepped downstairs and into the kitchen to watch Nicole scarf down her breakfast; appearing to be in a pleasant mood for the moment.

“Morning baby,” Waverly reached up and kissed Nicole on the cheek before pouring herself a cup of coffee. “Sleep well?”

“Ummhmm,” Nicole hummed with a mouth full of cereal, pointing at Waverly’s sweater and nodding with approval until her phone panged with a message.

“What is it?” Waverly asked, watching the colour drain from Nicole’s face.

“Shit,” she murmured and chocked down the rest of her breakfast, “Uh, I gotta head into work babe, I’ll talk to you later.”

“But wait - ”

“Later,” Nicole called back, strapping on her belt and holster, bolting out the door.

“Not even a kiss goodbye,” Waverly murmured, sipping her coffee.

She picked up her phone and gasped at the incessant messages Wynonna left for her.

_Waverly, where the hell u at?_

_Have u heard from Dolls? Something’s up, I know it!_

_What’s ur ETA 2 the office?_

_C’mon girl!!_

_Damn it, pick up!_

“Holy apple fritters Wynonna,” and she texted, I’LL BE RIGHT IN!!! “Sheesh, always chaos with her,” but Waverly grabbed her coat and keys and took off to the BBD.

* * *

Wynonna was mowing down on a strawberry donut, spewing shards of powdered berries onto Jeremy when Waverly strolled in.

“How far did you look? What did you see? Were there any tracks?” Wynonna sped off her questions like a typewriter.

“We couldn’t see anything Wynonna, it was kinda dark out, remember?” Jeremy said, trying to keep up.

“Show me the area on the map,”

“Morning,” piped up Waverly.

“Finally, where the hell have -”Wynonna started and then screamed, “Whoa!”

“What?” Waverly panicked, feeling like her sister’s gaze was like looking at a massive mole she had growing on her face.

“What the hell is that?!”

“What?!?!”

“What?” asked Jeremy.

“That!?” Wynonna flailed her powered fingers.

“Wynonna, what are you talking about?”

“That… that - thing you got on,” Wynonna croaked pointing at the sweater Waverly wore. “What the hell is that?”

“Yeah, oh yeah, that,” Jeremy mimicked Wynonna.

“It’s Nicole’s sweater.”

Wynonna’s face yielded in exasperation, muttering, “Go figure.”

“Totally,” Jeremey squeaked in.

“Hey!” Waverly yelled back.

“It’s in complete contrast to your face. And what’s up with that anyway?” Wynonna said now pointing to Waverly’s face.

“What?”

“Yeah, what is up with that?” Jeremy asked.

“What are you, her puppet?” Waverly snarled and at Jeremy.

“Look at you!” Wynonna’s hands flapped about, and Waverly had a hard time keeping up with conversation. “No…no you didn’t,” she continued, “Ugh you two… never-mind.”

“Wynonna, what are you talking about?”

“It’s all over you baby girl… did you shower by chance this morning?”

“Yes I did, thank you!” Waverly snapped, “Is this way you pressed the panic button on the text messages so that you can criticize my wardrobe?”

“God no, just don’t need that stench of Haught-sauce filtering the office too.”

“Wynonna!” Waverly yelped.

“I know, but how can you two have raging sex when our world is going to shit?”

“You two had raging sex?” Jeremey whispered, “Must be nice.”

“How do you always - ”

“Look, I don’t care what you two do, I just figured after all the exertion you put out last night that you’d be too tired…” Wynonna waved her hands up and down Waverly’s body, “… for that. But you’re like the little engine that could.”

“And yours has run out of steam! Now is this why you pounded me with forty-seven messages? Forty-seven Wynonna! So you can harass me again?” Waverly felt her cheeks blush and stormed to her desk dipping her head to hide the flush of embarrassment. _How the hell does she do that?_

“No, I -”

“Because you’re doing it again Wynonna. We talked about this last night,” and that railed her sister back in.

“Right, sorry. I’m mean that was quite a display you put on last night,” Wynonna continued.

“Stop it!”

“No, no, I’m done with that, I meant at the Boundary,” Wynonna paused and looked at her little sister with serious concern. “I watched you baby girl. We all did. It was unbelievable.”

“Yeah, that’s what Nicole said,” Waverly replied softly.

“But that’s not why I texted you, yes I was concerned and hoped you were okay, but please tell me you heard from Dolls?”

Waverly turned to see the distress splayed upon her sister’s face and guilt filled her stomach. She had completely forgotten all about Dolls in her worry over Nicole. It was evident that no one had heard from him yet either.

“You mean he still hasn’t checked in?” Waverly asked.

“I’m going crazy here baby girl.”

Waverly reached her sister in a few steps and wrapped her arms around her. “We’re going to keep searching today.”

“That’s what we planned to do,” Jeremy said pulling out the map of the Boundary. “According to seismic readings, it seems the only area that had the greatest impact stayed within the Boundary.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, the town felt some vibrations, but the heaviest activity lay within the borders,” Jeremy said, fingering the map.

“It was dark last night when we - ”

“We need to search again,” Wynonna said, “Doc hasn’t heard anything, and the last time he saw Dolls was at the border.”

Waverly took a moment to reflect on the night’s events and couldn’t recall ever seeing Dolls around anywhere. “Now that you mention it, I didn’t either. I never saw him.”

“This isn’t him Waves,” Wynona said, pacing around the room. “I get it; we spat; we avoid, then we yell at each other some more… but not like this.”

Waverly saw the concern deepen in Wynonna’s eyes, and this was very unlike Dolls. Always first to the scene, commanding everyone’s attention to do what he needs them to do, where to go, but for him to miss out on something as grand as the Boundary, Waverly got a sense that something terrible was up, but she didn’t want to concern her sister any more than she had too. Jeremy picked up the concern on her face and began packing equipment, “Henry wants to come with us.”

“Then let’s go get him and find Dolls,” Waverly demanded, and they all fled the BBD office.

* * *

With Henry on board in the Jeep, Waverly sped through the town. She knew Nicole hated it when she did this; making Nicole look like a sheriff who played favourites with her girlfriend, but Waverly was equally concerned about Dolls so she was willing to take the risk of arguing with her girlfriend again if it meant they could find him. “I’m sure he’ll turn up,” Waverly said, “you did give him quite a beating. He won't take that lightly,” Waverly said, trying to make light of the tension filling up the Jeep.

“Yeah,” Wynonna mumbled, not in her usual sense of glory and gusto, “But you don’t get to get off that easy.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Okay, seriously, the Boundary. What the hell baby girl? What happened?”

Waverly didn’t know how to explain it to Wynonna any better than she told it to Nicole. She filled her sister in with the events of last night, but with Jeremy and Henry in the back, Waverly didn’t want to open up about the dream just yet. She offered more details that she could recall; the calmness she had felt, the lack of fear and the pure knowingness of what she was there to do, guided by something that she didn’t have any control of but knowing she could trust it.

“But how could you trust it? It was tossing you about, shredding your dress to pieces?”

“It wasn’t Wynonna.” Waverly cut her off. “I never felt so…” Waverly searched for the right word, “…stable?” Her voice trilled at the word. “I know it sounds strange, but it was like I was grounded somehow.I don’t think anything would have touched me.”

Wynonna looked at her quizzically, “That’s quite a gift.”

“I don't know; I’m just saying I wasn’t affected by anything that was affecting all of you. Nicole went berserk last night.” Again, Waverly filled her in on the fight that she and Nicole had and the fear that nearly traumatized Nicole into complete stillness.

“Well, I’m not surprised,” Wynonna said, catching Waverly off guard.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we all heard something while you were in there.”

“What?!”

“It’s true,” Henry announced from the back seat.

“Well, I wasn’t there… not that anybody cared,” Jeremy said depressively.

“You heard me call out her name?”

“How would you even know her name?” Henry leaned over Wynonna’s seat, taking a keen interest in Waverly. “Did she tell you? Did you talk to her?”

“Well - uh, no, Henry. Nicole said I called out her name before I got to her.”

“Seriously?!” Cried Wynonna, “What in the blazing balls is going on here?”

“So you didn’t hear it?”

“I ain’t hearin' that,” Henry sounded resided, falling back into his seat.“There was somethin' in the vortex that was… I don’t know.”

“Talking?” Wynonna finished, “But not quite talking.”

“I don’t understand,” Waverly hesitated, “so we all heard something different?”

“Nope, not me, I didn’t hear a thing,” Jeremy chirped from the back, but everyone continued to ignore him.

“It’s hard to explain Waverly. It was a sound but not with words, and yet, it seemed like words in my mind. I would acquiesce it to be the vortex communicating with us, but to each person, it would speak in its own tongue,” Henry explained, while Waverly contemplated this idea.

If the vortex was speaking to each person individually, then did Waverly say Eleanora's name, or was that just what Nicole heard? What was everyone hearing? What was said?

These thoughts swirled in Waverly’s mind, trying to make senses of it all. She didn’t hear the voices per se like Henry and Wynonna, but she had the calling telling her what to do. Did this happen with to the others? When she explained it to them, it confirmed that she was the only one with that kind of ability.

“I don’t know baby girl, but none of us could do what you did last night. I mean shit, if anyone were going to save Eleanora, you’d think it would be Doc here,” she jabbed her thumb towards the back seat.

“I think what Henry is trying to say Waverly is that you all heard something different, but it was shaped to impact you all in a certain way,” Jeremy concluded, staring out the rear side window. Everyone fell silent.

“Finish that thought,” Henry told him.

“Oh, now you’re listening to me?”

“Spit it out pipsqueak!” Barked Wynonna.

Jeremy pulled himself upright, glad to have the attention for a moment and continued with his thought. “From what I’ve gathered, you all experienced the vortex in a personal way, almost in a way that heightens your abilities,” he pointed to Waverly, “as in your case, or triggered something in each of you that only you can decipher.”

Waverly peered at Jeremy in the rearview mirror, taking in his perspective but Henry and Wynonna were lost in this thought.

“You mean it spoke to us all?” Waverly probed, “Like- ”

“Like it was telling you each what you wanted to hear,” Jeremy concluded.

“Or needed to,” finished Henry.

“What the hell for?” said Wynonna doubtfully.

“Well, uh, I don’t know that for sure… it just seemed - ” Jeremey said.

“Yeah, never mind,” Wynona cut him off, but her brows were knit meaning she was taking in what Jeremy said.

They all sat in silence while Waverly steered them down the last range road to the Boundary.

“So you think that happened with Nicole too?” Waverly asked anyone who was listening.

“More than likely,” Henry answered.

“She was out there stuck with us, but she looked like she got hit by a truck she was so stunned,” Wynonna finished.

Waverly turned to her sister and whispered, “What did this voice thing tell you?”

“I uh…” but Wynonna looked away. “I can’t talk about it yet.”

“Why not?”

“I need to sort it out first - ”

“But I can help you.”

“No Waves! After what you told me about what happened to you in there, this is nothing that you can help with.”

Waverly stared at her sister feeling the sting of hurt in her eyes. “Wynonna, we don’t keep secrets,” she pleaded, “we made a promise to each other that we don’t do this anymore.”

Wynonna took her time staring out at the window looking lost in thought. Waverly thought that she wasn't going to say anything until Wynonna finally said, “Baby girl, I’m not keeping a secret, I just don’t know how to talk about it yet, alright?”

And Waverly knew that pushing her sister any further would cause her to get angry and then storm over to Shorty’s to fix it. So for the moment, she decided not to push.

“Are you the same way Henry? You gonna shut me out too?”

Henry said nothing, and like Wynonna, he couldn’t meet her eyes any more than Wynonna could. What could have happened to make them shut down like this? Waverly got the sense that it had something to do with more than just missing Dolls.

“I need some time Waverly… I mean, I’ve never seen my sister and I don’t know what to make of anythin' right now. I’d sure like to make her acquaintance though.”

“Oh my God, Henry, I’m so sorry!” Waverly yelped, completely forgetting to ask Henry about his older sister who was still laying in Purgatory General. She let herself get entirely wrapped up about Nicole and Wynonna that she forgot the purpose of why she went into the vortex.

“It’s fine; it was a heavy night, to say the least.”

“How is she now Doc? Any sign of a change?” Wynonna asked, and Waverly felt a deeper pang of guilt because Wynonna had at least kept in touch to see what was happening.

“She’s no different. Stable,” Doc replied, “and waitin' for some specialist to come into town and look her over.” Henry paused for a moment, pulled off his stetson and scratched his head. “At least we believe she’s human.”

“What we don’t get,” Wynonna continued, “is why she was there in first place and where had she been all this time?”

That was the question that gagged everyone in the Jeep. Dream or no dream, that fact that Henry's sister was mysterious seemed to put everyone in a deep state of silence.

“I’m sorry Henry, I didn’t even know you had a sister,” Jeremy stated, reaching over and patting Henry on the knee.

“That makes the two of us friend,” and Henry took Jeremy’s hand and placed it back on his own lap, “but I thank ya for your concern.”

“I’ve never heard you speak about siblings Henry,” said Waverly curiously. This was the only time she knew about Henry and his family. He didn’t talk about family much, usually only about his connection to Wyatt and the adventures they shared in their younger years. Waverly wondered if having a family would have altered his path. She knew that having Alice now made a difference in his world, but what could having a sister do to him? What if she was alive with Henry all those years ago? If she was dead, where the heck did she come from?

“I ain’t never had any Miss Waverly. I had an older adopted brother, Francisco, but we were never close, you could say…” but before Henry could continue his thought, Jeremey chimed in.

“We’re here,” he said, snapping them all back to reality.

Everyone stepped out of the Jeep and took a moment to survey the Boundary. In the daylight the damage was overwhelming. Nothing stood upright anymore, no trees, bushes, or any concrete or metal. It was a miracle that all of them left this Boundary unscathed.

“We need to split up,” Wynonna asserted, “Look for tracks, clues, anything about the whereabouts of Dolls, understand?” They all nodded their heads in agreement and Waverly watched her sister run north through the debris field calling out Xavier’s name. Henry went west doing the same, Jeremy took his meter readings heading south and left Waverly taking the eastern ridge.

* * *

The ground was disturbed and broken. Waverly hadn’t noticed this the previous night, but now in the daylight, she detected small fissures in the soil. As she continued walking the path, edging herself along the Boundary, Waverly noticed that the massive crack didn’t extend beyond the Boundary, but as if it was solely contained to everything that existed within it. 

Waverly stood in the general area where Henry said Xavier would have been before the collapse and scanned the area. She booted away bits of the debris that cluttered the ground and found a set of footprints underneath — deeply indented footprints.

 _That’s odd_ , she thought, _why would they be this deep?_ _It wasn’t raining last night, and only the moisture of wet earth could have allowed for prints to have this kind of depth._ She lowered herself to view the markings around the prints and grazed over them with her hands. _He struggled_ , Waverly concluded. Xavier was resisting something, and as she shifted more debris away, she unveiled dragging marks. It was as if Xavier dug his heels in but was pulled against his force. The dirt path lead towards the centre of the storm.

“What the hell…?”

Waverly removed the debris along the path and followed the trail of the tracks with a sinking feeling she knew exactly where it was taking her.

“Guys!” She yelled out. “Get over here!”

Standing at the centre of the storm from the previous night, Waverly stood exactly where Eleanora was fending off the power of the vortex.

“What?! What did you find?!” Wynonna’s voice trembled in a panic running towards her younger sister. “Did you see him?”

They all approached her with caution and suspense.

“I don’t think he’s here,” Waverly exclaimed.

“Then why the hell - ”

“Because I think he went wherever Eleanora came out of.”

Waverly pointed to the tracks that led her to the spot. “This is where his tracks end… and this was where I found Eleanora.” The ground beneath their feet was encrusted in a circular pattern. They stood in the pinnacle.

“Where the blazes did she come from then?” Henry insisted.

Jeremy surveyed the ground picking up readings of the white powdered encrusted circle. “I can’t tell what this is,” he pulled out a vile and knife and scrapped a sample of the ground, “I’ll need to take it back to the lab for analysis.

“Where the hell did Dolls go?” Wynonna pleaded.

Waverly gripped her sister’s arm to control her shaking. “There’s only one person that can answer that, and let’s hope she’s awake.”

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it's been a while since posting anything, but I took a break to focus on other projects that greatly needed my attention. I hope to be more diligent with this series and post more frequently. Thank you for your patience! 😊


	8. Paging Dr. Pressman

“Dr. Penkleman, please report to IC unit four stat. Dr. Penkleman, please report to IC unit four stat,” the nurse announced over the intercom.

Hearing the thumping steps running behind her, Waverly scooched aside pulling Wynonna with her and allowing Dr. Penkleman and his aids to run past. As the group was walking in the same direction, panic streaked across Henry’s face. “Oh shit,” and everyone followed closely behind until they entered the Intensive Care Unit at Purgatory General.

Waverly could hear buzzers, bells, and all sorts of chimes ringing coming from unit four down the hall. Her stomach began to sink at the thought of something happening to Eleanora and Henry not being able to reach his sister in time, but Nicole charged out of another unit throwing her hands up to stop the oncoming herd.

"Whoa, whoa!" Nicole screamed, "She's in her guys, don't worry. They moved her into unit two this morning."

Henry, gasping for air grabbed Nicole by the arm, "Ya sure, ya sure it's her?”

"Go in and check for yourself Doc. It's okay." Nicole said.

“Thank you,” Henry said, stepping into the unit to see his sister, followed closely by Wynonna.

“Honey, what are you doing here?” Waverly asked slightly breathless and surprised her girlfriend was standing in front of her. “Thought you were at the Sherif’s office?”

“I was, uh, but - ” and Nicole didn’t finish that thought as her face sank slightly, holding a regretful glance for who was coming down the hallway.

Waverly could hear the click-clacking steps approaching from behind her, and by seeing Nicole's avoided expression, it wasn’t going to be good news.

“Waverly?” That sweet voice floated towards Waverly and rippled down her back. _No, this couldn’t be,_ Waverly thought. Nicole looked away as Waverly turned her torso to see Dr. Shae Pressman, Nicole’s gorgeous ex-wife, sauntering down the hallway in their direction. “It’s a pleasure to see you again, and this time in better circumstances,” Shae soothed as she stopped in front of the two of them. Even under the white doctor’s coat, the light dark-skinned beauty could not be mistaken. Her black skirt, with a slit in the side, clung to her willowy frame as her white blouse; noticeably gapped between the buttons, was a purposeful purchase to enhance her modest chest.

Waverly had only met Shae Pressman on one previous occasion, under the dire circumstances when Nicole was near death after being bitten by one of the Widow’s who had been incorporating Mercedes Gardner’s body. On that occasion not only was Waverly witnessing her lady love dying, but Shae Pressman announced that she was Nicole’s wife. Waverly had felt the wallop of Shae’s words punch her in the stomach making her feel nauseous and breathless; and now, seeing Shae in front of her again, Waverly endured the same sucker punch to her gut, knocking the wind out of her.

“Um - uh, hi,” Waverly managed to choke out weakly, and Shae had extended her hand in greeting. She felt Shae’s slender, warm fingers wrap around her own. “Uh, yes, it's uh - good to see you... too.”

Shae stood there with the confident air of a doctor, but also of someone who knew something that Waverly did not. _Why didn’t Nicole tell me she was coming?_ She turned back to look at Nicole who shamefully glanced away.

“Uh huh,” Shae gave a soft chuckle, “obviously by your reaction, Nicole didn’t tell you I’d be here, did she?” Shae pressed on with a simple, courteous smile.

“It wasn’t certain until this morning,” Nicole rushed to answer.

“True,” said Shae, looking down at the petite woman and making Waverly feel insignificant and small. “The staff informed me this morning about Miss Holliday's condition, and I came as quickly as I could.They gave me insights into her accident.”

“Acc - accident?” Waverly stammered.

“The details don’t matter right now, Waves,” Nicole interrupted. “We filled in Dr. Pressman as much as we could… given the uh, circumstances of the storm and all.”

“One of the nurses informed me about your condition; scratches and such, I hope that was okay?” She announced while continuing to speak, but Waverly had tuned out. All she could see was Shae’s mouth moving but not understanding a word she spoke. Everything had slowed down, and Waverly felt insulted that Shae was more informed than she ought to be. More informed than she needed to be.

“I’m… sorry, what was that?” Waverly mumbled.

“I just said, you were the one who found Miss Holliday, right? Last night, through the storm?” Shae inclined, “Quite a feat of heroics if you ask me. How are you feeling today?”

“I uh - it was nothing really,” Waverly deflected, wondering how much Shae did know considering even the nurses were unaware of those details. She turned toward Nicole. _How much did Nicole tell Shae?_ “I’m good, hardly a scratch,” Waverly smiled her twisting smile that told people she was alright when really she was pretending to be okay. Nicole would catch on to this as she was well aware of Waverly’s smiling tactic.

“That’s a miracle Waverly; I’m happy to hear that.”

“So your Eleanora’s specialist then?” Waverly asked.

“I’m just here to observe her condition and offer what insight I can at this time, it's a bit of mystery, but I'm sure we'll solve it,” Shae purred confidently. “I guess you didn’t know that I’m a neurologist and specialist in this field?”

Nicole's face was slightly pink from embarrassment, “No, no one mentioned it to me.” Waverly started feeling the sting of that punch, again.

Henry stormed out of the unit followed closely by Wynonna, “Doc, are you the specialist? I’m Doc… Holliday. John Henry Holliday. Have you got any news?” he rushed.

"I'm Dr. Pressman, Mr. Holliday; you must be a relative then?" Shae asked while once again extending her slender fingers to embrace Henry's. Waverly wondered if he was caught off guard as much as she was by those warm fingers.

"Uh, so to speak ma'am, yes."

"Very distant," Wynonna added.

"Well, I don't much have more to offer at this time afraid, but let's step inside, and I'll fill you in with what I know," and Shae persuaded Henry back into the unit.

As if sensing the tension between the two ladies, Wynonna tugged at Waverly’s arm “You an okay baby girl?” She whispered, “You look upset.”

But Waverly wasn’t about to answer right now. She turned away from Nicole and gave Wynonna a stare that said, _we’ll talk it about it later._ Wynonna understood the gesture and re-entered the unit.

“Waves- ” Nicole pipped up.

“What’s she doing here?” Waverly muttered, her mouth suddenly dry. Feeling awkward in her conversation with Shae, Waverly struggled with the blind-sided move that Nicole pulled.

“I’m sorry,” Nicole said, unable to look at Waverly. A sight the brunette didn’t let slip past her. “The hospital staff called me while you were in the shower last night to see if I could get Shae here to see what’s going on with,” Nicole paused, “Eleanora.” Waverly’s noted the twinge of irritation in Nicole’s voice when she said Eleanora’s name. “So, uh - I, texted back and forth and she messaged me this morning confirming that'd she'd be here waiting for me - here, uh - to fill her in.” Nicole’s face was still a soft pink and she rushed on, “It was a mad dash this morning baby, I haven’t had a chance to - ” Nicole trailed off, shifting uncomfortably. Nicole was never a good liar and her reaction to her ex-wife told Waverly that something else was going on.

“You could have told me this morning, or even texted me... maybe talked with me last night," Waverly hinted. "There was no need to hide this information,” Waverly said, continuing to watch her girlfriend. “Or is this you still being upset about Eleanora?” Waverly snipped back, and that brought Nicole’s attention around. The sound of Eleanora’s name appeared to ripple in Nicole and turned her face from pink to a red.

“No,” Nicole replied sharply.

“You’re hiding something aren’t you?” Waverly continued. “I’d like to think I know you well enough to tell when you’re lying Nicole.

“I’m not lying, Waves.”

“But you’re not telling me everything either,” Waverly stated and stormed into the IC unit.

* * *

With everyone crammed into the small room, Waverly stood by her sister while Henry talked with Shae, or Dr. Pressman as Waverly assumed she should call her now. She spotted Nicole slinking into the room and hugged herself in by the corner of the wall, purposefully avoiding eye contact with her. Irritation stirred within Waverly, but now was not the time to figure out what Nicole was hiding. She needed to stay focused for Wynonna and Henry.

Dr. Pressman offered further details of Eleanora’s condition, claiming that her vitals were all healthy and regular, her brain patterns were functionally normally, but there was some concern over the readings.

“What kind of concerns?” Henry worried.

"I wouldn't be too worried just yet Mr. Holliday; they are measurements that I've never seen before. Higher than average."

"Doc, I can't speak your language so I ain't knowin' what ya talkin' about here,” Henry said.

"I'm sorry, what I mean is, everything looks normal, but her brain scan is more active than usual, meaning more active than someone in her condition." Dr. Pressman held up her hands to stop Henry from asking more questions, "It's like her mind is measuring as if she's awake, yet she's not."

"And that's not normal?" He questioned.

"Not to me. But what we'll do - "

But Waverly had tuned out of the discussion. With everyone focused on Dr. Pressman and her information, Waverly was more concerned about the helpless sleeping woman. 

Eleanora was tucked tightly into the pale-blue-hard sheets of the hospital bed. _She looks peaceful_ , Waverly thought to herself, so unlike the woman she saw screaming in the vortex and fighting whatever force was surrounding all of them.

As Waverly observed more closely, she saw traces of lines etched into her face and arms. _Scars?_ Waverly thought, but the closer she looked she thought those lines could've been weathered by time too. Sunspots were sprinkled lightly on Eleanora's face and hands, and it made Waverly think, _where exactly had Eleanora been all this time?_

With strips of grey streaking at the side of Eleanora's temples; another ageing factor, it made it impossible to guess what her true age would be. Anything could have caused these markers. Waverly herself had noticed how much her own family had aged since Wynonna returned home - revenant stress induced of course, and this could have happened to Eleanora as well, but at the moment this woman looked peaceful, almost like she was resting.

Waverly resisted taking her hands into her own to get a real sense of what they would feel like. They looked tough on the upper side and more than likely on her palms as well, but that was never a true measure of someone’s life.

“What is it?” Wynonna whispered, pulling Waverly out of her observation.

“Oh, uh… nothing really. Just wondering how old she could actually be.” Waverly took a breath in before finishing, “She looks like she’s finally resting.”

Wynonna turned to her with surprise, “How can you tell?”

“Doesn’t she look peaceful to you?” Waverly asked.

“She looks like she’s in a coma,” Wynonna replied with a snarky tone.

“The Doctor is sayin' that this is some kind of a severe stress-induced coma,” said Henry out-loud, interrupting the sisters whispered conversation.

“Is she going to be okay? Will she come out of it?” Waverly asked, with a hint of worry in her tone that surprised her. That tone was caught by her sister and Nicole, who eyed her suspiciously.

“Only time will tell I’m afraid Waverly. We are still running a variety of tests, and we need to get more information on her background and history to determine which course of action we'll take. We’ll let Mr. Holliday know as soon as possible.”

Dr. Pressman took Eleanora’s chart and scribbled some numbers on it.

“The nurses will be in to tend to her wounds again shortly,” Dr. Pressman finished before nodding her head and exiting the room. "Sheriff, a word please," Shae whispered to Nicole, and surprisingly Nicole left without a word or glance in Waverly's direction.

Wynonna raised her hands in an exasperated gesture to Henry, and all he could do was offer a shrug.

“They don’t know anythin' conclusive yet,” Henry answered.

“Well, what are you exactly going to tell them genius? That she’s your long lost dead sister that you’ve never met and somehow materialized through a shit storm?”

“Wynonna!” Waverly sputtered.

“It’s not like I ain’t doin' my best here, Wynonna,” Henry sneered at her. “What exactly would you procure for me to enlighten them with?”

“What if she could be a long lost relative of yours,” Waverly pipped up. “Well it’s true,” she exclaimed, "sort of. Maybe if they did a DNA test of both you,” and they both stared at Waverly quizzically.

“How about a carbon dating test,” snapped Wynonna.

Waverly pulled Wynonna's arm and forced her to look at her. “What is with you?” she whispered, “This is his sister! There’s no need to be so nasty.”

“I’m just keeping things in perspective. This woman comes out of a hole from the earth that we kept boarded up to keep those demons out, and everyone all of a sudden wants to make nice and sweet! Why? Ooooo because her eyes are emerald green like some Wizard of Oz shit? We know nothing; _nothing_ about her Waves, nor are we any closer to finding Dolls. I’m sorry if I’m not so quick to dive into her world that we were so ready to put under.”

“Don’t you think she at least deserves a chance? For Henry’s sake? C’mon Wynonna, give him that much,” Waverly pleaded.

“You know that sick feeling I told you about?”

“Yeah.”

“Well I got it real bad now baby girl, okay? Just like last night and now that I see her again, I got that feeling," Wynonna said, pointing to her stomach. "She brought something into this world, and the sooner she wakes up and starts talking, the faster we can figure all this shit out. I’m sorry, I don’t care if she’s a sister or not; we can deal with that later.”

Wynonna stormed out of the unit door and left Henry and Waverly standing there.

“I’m sorry, Henry.”

“Don’t be. Your sister may be right. We ain’t gotta damn clue what we’re dealin' with now,” he sneered, But like Waverly, he wanted to stand by his sister for a moment. He pulled a chair towards the bed; screeching against the floor until he took his sister's hand. They stayed quiet for a while until Henry's baritone voice broke the air. “My mama told me she had a child before me, but that child had died," Henry said with moisture in his eyes.

"Yes, you mentioned that last night," soothed Waverly, pulling up a chair herself. "That she died before you were born."

"Only a few months old," he paused. "The family took it all real hard, and that’s when mama became an avid churchgoer, the Presbyterian Church. She insisted I become one too. You can imagine how well that took,” he chuckled lightly.

“Oh,” Waverly whispered, feeling the sadness sting her heart.

“No one knows for sure why my sister died but… medicine was not so proper back then as it was now, and then mama fell to the tuberculous.”

"I'm sorry to hear it, Henry," Waverly said, reaching her hand across Eleanora's body to touch his and Henry took it reassuringly.

“Mama never talked about her much, ya know? Think it hurt her too much, losing a daughter that she always wanted.”

“So you knew it by her eyes?” Waverly questioned, "It just seems- " 

"I know what you think it seems Waverly - impossible." He looked at her closely. “But they are exactly how mama described them before she stopped talkin' about her.” He removed his black Stetson and scratched his head like he was uncertain himself of what he was realizing. “I ain’t never seen eyes that those on anybody in my life, in my entire life understand? 'Cept in my mama.”

And Waverly did understand. When Henry was immortal, he would have had countless opportunities to gaze into the eyes of many a stranger to see if those green emerald eyes ever stared back, and apparently, he never met anyone with eyes like Eleanora. Even in Waverly's short life, she'd never witnessed a green colour like that. She knew without a doubt that Henry was telling the truth.

“But if she’s older than you Henry, and died before you were born, how is alive?” Waverly asked.

There was silence while Henry pondered this question. _How could it even be possible?_ _She was only a few months old, and here she was, a full-grown woman. She shouldn’t even exist at all._

“Perhaps the Vortex?” He asked.

“I'm not so sure," replied Waverly. “It doesn't seem possible because the vortex was the result of the Boundary collapsing.”

“You can’t tell me she’s a revenant?” 

“No, I don’t think so either," said Waverly, "but the fact is the Boundary was always guarding something.”

“So what you are sayin'?” 

“What if she came from whatever the Boundary was covering up?” 

“What and where the hell could that be?” Henry asked, concern deepening his voice.

“I think your sister is the only one who can answer that Henry.”

There was a long pause before Henry pulled back his chair, another squealing against the floor, and stood up. "Well, I ain't sittin' around here to wait for nothin'. I gotta do somethin', Waverly. Maybe find Dolls or somethin'- "

"You go, Henry, I'm gonna stay here a little while, if that's alright with you?"

Henry fingered his Stetson and tipped his hat towards Waverly, "I'd be much obliged, Waverly," and with that, Henry exited the room.

Wynonna may have been right that something may be loose in Purgatory, but Waverly didn’t feel that it was anything that was going to harm them. Unlike the other three, she never got a sense that Eleanora was going to be harmful to anyone; not by the way she pleaded with her last night to stand back and be safe. The pain of forcing herself to fight and protect Waverly from getting hurt while keeping the Boundary up - no, it didn’t make sense. Waverly believed she was trying to keep something in, not let something out. _Why couldn’t Wynonna see that?_ _Why was she so bent on seeing something much darker than what she felt?_

Waverly couldn't resist anymore. She took one of Eleanora's hands in her own, and the sensation was instant. A soft pulse of electricity ripped through her fingers and into her palm. It didn’t sting or burn or stab, but instead, it felt more like a warm tingling vibration. Waverly turned Eleanora's hand over and just as she had suspected, Eleanora’s hand was deeply callused. _How long had she been snapping those whips? What kind of battle had this woman been facing? And for how long?_ Waverly wondered to herself.

Waverly set her hand back down; she didn’t care what Wynonna and Henry said; she wanted to help this woman, not just extract information.

* * *

Jeremy entered the small room a few hours later with Waverly still tucked into the hospital chair.

“Waverly,” he said, “are you alright?”

“Hey? Where have you been?” Waverly probed, “I haven’t seen you since we came into the hospital.”

“I went straight up to the lab. I told you I wanted to test the ground sample we found earlier,” Jeremy hushed and pulled out his tablet, “I wanted to show this to you before anyone else,” and he handed her the tablet.

Waverly drew the tablet in closer, reading the results on the screen. Most of it was jargon she couldn’t understand and began shaking her head, “I don’t understand what this means Jeremy.”

“The sample on the ground has the same vibrational consistencies as Miss Holliday.” When Waverly didn’t answer out of confusion, he continued, “It means that’s where she was, there was some kind of centripetal force that penetrated into the ground, enough to leave this kind of residue.”

“Jeremey, I- ” Waverly was about to say she didn’t understand when she caught a thought in her mind. Centripetal would mean something was moving towards the centre. The vortex was in the centre. “Wait, you said penetrated into the ground, not coming up from the ground.”

“Exactly,” Jeremy said excitedly.

If Jeremy was right and this sample had the same vibrational reading as Eleanora, and Eleanora had a similar vibrational reading as Waverly that they discovered the night before… “So didn't come from below?" Waverly whispered to herself.

Jeremy’s smile grew on his face seeing that Waverly was coming to the same conclusion that he already knew.

“It confirms she’s not of this earth,” Waverly stated.

“Not just that,” Jeremy replied, and Waverly dug deeper into her thoughts, and she knew she was on the right path by the way her body prickled with goosebumps on her skin. 

“Oh my god…” she trailed off.

“Exactly.”

“We need to tell Henry and Wynonna.”

* * *


	9. The Waking of Eleanora Holliday

“Oh come off it!” Wynonna exclaimed, storming around the living room of the Homestead. “You all can’t be serious?!” Wynonna yelled at Waverly and Jeremy who were scrunched on the couch with Henry. “Doc, are you believing any of this bullshit?”

“Well, I- ” 

“No seriously?! How can you all believe it?” Wynonna cut him off.

“I-” Henry tried again.

“Oh, never mind,” Wynonna snipped. “You think a few computer readings can give us the truth? Some pile of dirt- "

“White dirt,” Jeremy murmured.

“Dirt left by some, what? Feces of some long dead animal?” Wynonna continued her tirade long enough to open the freezer, pull out a bottle of whiskey, and take a long draw - straight from the bottle.

Waverly, squished between the two men watched her sister throw this tantrum that would’ve impressed all the revenants she put back in hell. No doubt they take a standing room only viewing to this display of anger. “How can you not believe it, Wynonna?” Waverly asked, feeling her own temper rising. “It’s the most likely possibility we have.”

“Eleanora Holliday an angel?! My ass!!” Wynonna howled, burping the whiskey back up. “Look at this- ” yanking the tablet out of Jeremy’s hands, Wynonna pounded the screen so hard her fingerprints were leaving scratch marks. “ -even she doesn’t have the same readings as you, baby girl! You said so yourself.”

“Why is this so difficult for you to understand, Wynonna? That should be conclusive evidence that she is like me... or part of anyway!” Waverly countered, standing up and snatching the tablet back from her sister, handing it back to Jeremy who took the edge of his t-shirt and wiped the screen clean. “What have you got against her? What has she done to you?” Waverly turned back to Jeremy and glared at him to help back her up but instead, he squirmed sideways nudging closer to Henry in some futile attempt to be protected from Wynonna’s wrath.

Waverly turned to Henry. “Henry, what about you?” She asked. “Do you think this is - bologna?"

"That's not what I said. I said-"

"Do you think this could be possible?!” Waverly voiced over her sister.

Henry was thoughtful before responding. Listening to everything that Waverly and Jeremy had presented earlier while being forced to listen to Wynonna’s outburst on things, left his moustache twitching - a sure sign he was percolating over something. “We ain’t got any other plausible explanation do we?” Henry said. “Their’s seems as good as any, Wynonna,”he added, preparing for another of her assaults. She scowled at him in shock and exasperation; her ally was turning his back on her. With his hands on the brim of his Stetson, Henry twisted it in circles like a nervous twitch. “I don’t know Waverly. I just- I just don’t know _how_ it’s possible, but it seems like you two may have somethin’ to go on.”

“Something to go on?” Wynonna retorted, “How is this something to go on, Doc?!”

“What else to do we have darlin’?” Henry spoke softly, rising from the couch. “We ain’t seein’ anythin’ thing like this in Purgatory before and I- ” Henry stopped himself and shook his head, struggling to find the right words, “I know how you feel about your sister Waverly here,” Henry pointed his Stetson to Waverly, offering a soft smile, “and I gotta believe in somethin’ Wynonna. I got a sister I ain’t never had before. I know it, I can feel it,” he paused, “and she could be the aunt to our daughter, Alice. That's something worth fighting for.” His final words cut into Wynonna and she kept her mouth shut. He put on his hat and with his shoulders slumped in resolution and stepped outside onto the deck.

It was a notion no one saw coming, and Henry’s departure left a chill in the air. Waverly never considered the prospect that Eleanora could be… no - she was an aunt, just like Waverly was. _I didn’t even think of that._ Eleanora would be the only family member to leave Purgatory and help take care of Alice. _Aunt Angel Eleanora_ , Waverly repeated in her mind, and even if it brought a comforting impression to her heart, but Waverly was sure Wynonna was not so comforted. Waverly watched her sister with her hands on her hips, whiskey bottle still clasped in her hand with her lips pursed, offering nothing to refute what Henry said. She bowed her head in a moment of defeat, but knowing Wynonna, she won’t stay down too long.

“Wynonna,” Waverly spoke softly.

“Don’t you take his side, baby girl,” Wynonna’s voice was stern and threatening, “not right now.”

“Wynonna, it’s not about sides,” Waverly pleaded. “There’s a woman that needs our help!”

“Then you two better get your assess in gear and figure out how the hell to wake her up!” Wynonna warned, taking her whiskey bottle, storming upstairs.

Waverly didn’t know what to do. Sympathetic to Henry, but wondering what would have Wynonna so bothered by one woman that would make her so mean to everyone else. She turned to Jeremy, “Why didn’t you say anything? Back me up?”

“Do you honestly think Wynonna cares what I think?” Jeremy said with a deep sigh. “You think she really listens to me? To her, I’m just some kid who provides useful information whenever she feels it’s useful.” Jeremy said, stretching out on the now vacant couch. 

It was hard for Jeremy, Waverly knew, to be the odd man out in a group like them but she always valued Jeremy’s opinion and insight. He was smarter than anyone ever gave him credit for, especially Wynonna, but he was not someone to underestimate and Waverly never did. “I’m sorry,” was all Waverly could offer.

“I know,” he trailed off, “it’s not your fault. That’s just how it is with her.”

“But not with me,” Waverly said, shoving his legs over the side making room for herself to sit beside him. “I know you’re an exceptional scientist and I can’t do this without you, Jeremy.”

Jeremy glanced at Waverly and she saw the appreciation trickle into the corner of his. He was touched by the sentiment. He finally received some form of validation, and Waverly meant it - she couldn’t do this without him. It felt like he was the only person on her side, her ally, and the one who could help her solve this mystery.

“So what do we do now, Waves?” He asked.

“We wait for Eleanora to wake up,” Waverly said, feeling resided and helpless.

* * *

However, in the next few weeks nothing had changed much; at least as far as Eleanora’s condition was concerned. Nicole however, was an entirely different matter.

It didn’t help Waverly knowing that whenever she would visit Eleanora at the hospital or hear from Henry about her condition, that Dr. Shae Pressman was mentioned. He would go on about, _“Dr. Pressman said… Dr. Pressman suggests… Dr. Pressman has another theory…”_ and all Waverly could hear was, _Shae, Shae, Shae,_ while imaging that Nicole was with her. It's the one name that made Waverly's stomach glitch and her heart ache, but talking to Nicole about that or anything hadn’t improved either.The only time she had any interaction with Nicole was solely contained to the hospital, and usually in the presence of Shae. Waverly found the two of them sharing in multiple conversations about Eleanora; “ _any changes… what about inducing a wake-up... how much longer will this take…”_ Nicole would panic as they deliberated but as always, the same exasperated result - nothing new.

Waverly had set out to speak with Nicole because this _thing,_ that existed between them was driving her mad. She missed her lover, missed the way Nicole’s hands would stroke her chin just before grazing her lips to kiss her, missed the comfort of being wrapped in her girlfriend's arms. Waverly was ready to yield to whatever existed between Nicole and her ex-wife if only Nicole would converse with her again. But with the havoc created in the town, Nicole nary said more than a brief sentence, “I’ll take to you later, Waverly,” she would say surely but with none of the affectionate ' _baby,' or 'Waves,'_ or ' _sweetheart.'_ Waverly just had to watch her girlfriend streak out of the hospital to settle another dispute in the town.

Feeling weighed down by the rumbling of townsfolk losing faith in the Sheriff’s department, Nicole had been working overtime to hose down the backlash of assaults against the department, while working with the Black Badge Division to get to the bottom of this crisis. The townspeople weren’t feeling safe and they didn’t know who to trust to protect them anymore. Since the arrival of this mysterious guest, rumours had begun to circulate that this- _anomaly_ as they referred to Eleanora, was the cause of some magical dark force just lurking in the midst to unleash hell upon the town. ' _Who’s going to protect us, Sheriff!?” _They slurred Nicole's title as an insult to the position. _'What are you doing about this!? Where’s Sheriff Nedly? You should’ve never had that position; you didn’t earn it…'_ The townspeople would rage on and on. Everyone was unnerved and on edge so having any conversation with Nicole was dismissive at best and like Wynonna, the two of them seemed to have this personal vendetta against the comatose woman who was still unable to wake.

Waverly's frustration grew, torn between the two women she loved and the woman she knew she was meant to save and she felt like she was forced to chose between the two. _But how? What am I supposed to do?_ Waverly continually questioned herself only to find that she was no closer to a resolution. But this gap, this thorny situation with Wynonna escalated while making it utterly impossible to speak to her about anything, and Waverly desperately wanted to talk to her sister. She missed the conversations they had when they could talk about anything, _anything,_ and that felt volatile somehow, like walking on splinters. At any moment Wynonna would erupt again with another barrage of how Eleanora was the cause of all this unsettling nerve throughout the town, and that made approaching her sister with any ideas, out of the question. The pressure mounted on Waverly’s shoulders to find a solution, some cause, some answer to solve this mysterious riddle, but even Waverly had to admit that when Eleanora came into Purgatory, the energy of the town had shifted. If anyone was going to be a reflection of that, she only had to look at how Wynonna and Nicole were treating her.

Thus, Waverly had chosen to stay at the Homestead and leave Nicole to sort out her business. The Homestead was considerably closer to the Boundary which made investigating easier; even Jeremy had booked his own room at the Homestead to help discover more of the curiosities that lay within it since the night of the collapse. Together they scoured every aspect from the great storm within the Boundary. Unearthing whatever tracks, traces of strange elements, signs, clues, until they left nothing unturned, but the results always rendered the same conclusion: wherever Eleanora came from, it was not from Hell or Purgatory, nor was it conclusive enough to say she was from Heaven.

More perplexed than ever, Waverly felt that whatever forensic research they were doing was becoming meaningless, and with no changes coming soon, Waverly felt a wrath might be coming, and not just from Wynonna.

“We’re missing something!” Jeremy yelled, kicking debris aside.

“Hey,” Waverly soothed, “we’re going to keep looking. I know we’ll find something,” she said, noting Jeremy’s growing agitation. She was afraid he was going to go down the path with all the others, but right now he was her only ally and she needed him. He was the only one that believed in her. “Maybe, we’re just at the wrong spot,” Waverly added.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, I don’t know Jeremy… I’m getting lost as you are trying to be hopeful but not feeling very optimistic. I just can't have you turn on me like the others."

"I'm not going to do that Waverly, I promise. It's just frustrating."

"Maybe we’re looking in the wrong direction. It’s like we’re looking for clues, something tangible, but maybe it’s something other than that.” Waverly concluded, noticing that something of this idea caught on with Jeremy.

“Hang on,” he said. Jeremy began pacing in a circle, mumbling to himself while padding his finger to his palm as if he was adding something. “You may be onto something, Waverly.” She eyed him pacing faster and faster until he suddenly stopped and stared at her.

“What!?” Waverly exclaimed.

“What if,” Jeremey said, “what we are looking for has been right in front of us the whole time, but we overlooked it?”

“I don’t understand.”

“You’re right Waverly, it’s not something, it’s someone.”

“Jeremy-”

“You, Waverly.”

“What?”

“I think you’re the missing link, the reason why we can’t make sense of it and why Eleanora can’t wake up.”

Waverly threw her hands up to resign, there was no way that she was the cause of the disturbance and she said just that. “So I caused all this!? This is my fault then?”

“No, no you didn’t cause it, but remember how you said what happened that night to you when you found Eleanora?”

“Yeah, so?”

“It was all about a feeling. Just like when Henry, Wynonna, and Nico - sorry about that,” he apologized, knowing Nicole was a touchy subject, “but everyone has had a negative reaction to her, but you.”

“Well, neither have you,” Waverly said.

“But I wasn’t there that night, I wasn’t in the mix of it all, and I don't know, she doesn't have that kind of hold on me.” He stopped to think and stepped closer to Waverly. “Have you experienced anything strange since that night?”

Thinking back over the past few weeks, Waverly didn’t recall anything that was significant that occurred, only what Jeremy already knew. “No, I can’t- ”

“Maybe it’s nothing physical, try remembering back to how you felt about something.” He said, and at once Waverly recalled the dream she had with Eleanora on the first night. Her face flushed at the memory giving away her secret. He pointed to her and smiled. “I knew it; what?!”

“I- uh, I don’t think it really matters Jeremey, it was just a dream.”

“Dream, what dream?” He prodded, and Waverly relented. She hadn’t spoken about the dream to anyone nor any of the consecutive dreams that followed, and now she felt the time was right to talk about it.

Waverly explained the dream from the first night, how Eleanora told her to wake up because time was running out, but every night since the first one, she had a succession of dreams with Eleanora in it. Always at the Homestead, but their home, the town of Purgatory, and the mountains had begun to shift. The sun would set faster and faster as if time was speeding up. The land was shifting, moving from fall to winter.

“What else?” Jeremy continued to probe.

“Well, Eleanora herself. She - she became more distant,” Waverly recalled. In each dream, it was like Eleanora was fading in some way. No longer did she approach Waverly from behind and cling to her. No longer did she reach for Waverly’s hands. It was like she was being pulled away into another world.

“Maybe another dimension, you mean?”

“I don’t know. But it's like she was fading, she looked like she kept losing energy or something,” Waverly explained, but even to her, it wasn’t making much sense. However, piecing it together and finally being able to speak about it out loud, without judgement or criticism, was freeing to Waverly.

“And how did it make you feel? How does she make you feel?” Jeremy asked.

“I’m not into her, okay?” Waverly felt insulted by the accusation. This was just another accelerant in her issues with Nicole and she’d felt plenty guilty enough having dreamt of Eleanora each night, yet alone uncertain what she was feeling and what they meant.

“No, no that’s not what I mean Waverly, and it wouldn’t matter to me anyway, but you two are connected somehow, we know this, and I’m trying to understand.”

Jeremey’s point was reasonable, and Waverly felt the pinch of shame at having her friend and ally be so understanding when she was so defensive. “I’m sorry, Jeremy,” she blubbered. She understood what he was asking and began expressing what that sensation with Eleanora was like. “It’s, umm - it’s like she’s familiar, I guess you could say.” That was precisely the word that described her connection to Eleanora but in what way, Waverly could still not assess. “Yeah, that’s it,” she confirmed, “familiar,” and then something dawned to Waverly as she gasped out loud.

“What?!” Asked Jeremy.

“Oh my goodness Jeremy, I think you’re right! You’ve been talking about how our frequencies are similar- ”

“And if you can feel her- ”

“Then she must feel me too- ”

“Then those dreams- ”

“Are messages!” They bantered and shrieked together. “She’s been trying to reach out to me!” Waverly concluded.

“Holy sh- ” said Jeremey.

“Holy apple fri-,” said Waverly, overlapping on Jeremy’s joy.

“Waverly, do you realize what this means?”

She looked into her friend's eyes and with a nervous twitch in her stomach, she confirmed, “I’m the only one who can wake her,” she said.

“Exactly, and we’d better get our asses to the hospital.” 

* * *

The thought that Waverly had the power to wake Eleanora was terrifying. She didn’t have a clue of what to do or how to do it, but her senses told her to trust. Trust is what helped save this woman in the first place, but so help her if she should fail to wake her now. Not only would she face the wrath of the town but Wynonna’s as well. That was a more terrifying thought than not being able to do anything.

Waverly and Jeremy arrived at the hospital as dusk rested upon the town. Not wanting to draw any attention their way, they waited until the nurses had their shift change. There was a small window of opportunity to sneak into Eleanora’s unit, and when they saw the line of nurses filing out, they sprang down the hallway and entered the unit, silently closing the door behind them and drawing the curtains.

“What if I can’t do it?” Waverly whispered.“What if we got this wrong and she doesn’t wake up?”

Jeremy took her hand confidently and she felt reassured that he was by her side. “There’s only one way to find out,” he said, keeping his voice low.

“We’re not telling anyone yet, understand? Not until we’re sure.”

“Totally fine by me,” he agreed.

Waverly approached the side of Eleanora’s bed, pulling the chair softly to sit next to her. Somehow, over the past few weeks, Eleanora became frailer. Hooked up to wires and feeding tubes didn’t help but something told Waverly that this woman was slipping away. Like before, Waverly took her hand into her own, but this time there was no sensation. The tingling feeling that she observed the first and only time Waverly touched her, was no longer present. She couldn’t pick up a vibration.

“I’m not feeling her,” Waverly trembled. “I could sense her before, but something’s wrong.”

Jeremy put his hand on her shoulder and spoke softly into Waverly’s ear. “She’s still here, she’s just further away. Close your eyes and focus Waverly. Focus on what it feels like to touch her,” he offered.

Waverly did what Jeremy suggested and closed her eyes. She took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled to calm her breathing. _Where are you?_ Waverly called in her mind. _Tell me where you are?_ She focused on the tingling sensation she experienced the first time, remembering how it travelled through her fingers and into her palms. She continued to breathe in and out and extended that tingling sensation while reaching into Eleanora.

Waverly’s mind opened to the Homestead, the place of every dream with Eleanora in it. She impressed the tingling sensation into the land as if it was a sonar beacon. _Eleanora?_ Waverly called out in her mind, _Eleanora?_ A faint ripple returned to Waverly’s hand, small but noticeable. But something else had sensed it as well and once again, a storm began to brew. _Eleanora!?_ Waverly said louder this time. She started running around the vast land of the Homestead, constantly emitting the tingling sensation while fighting off the prevailing draught winds. Again, the tingling reverberated back to her, _just beyond the barn,_ Waverly knew, and she ran towards the barn, but her legs were heavy. The air was resisting her futile attempts; it was like the night of the great storm — the swirling wind, flailing debris. _I’ll get to her again, I know it._ She convinced herself.

Trudging through the wind, Waverly pushed harder, willing herself to plunge the next few feet and see what was beyond the corner of the barn. _“C’mon…C’mon!_ She urged herself, gripping the wood panel and thrusting herself around the corner. There, on her knees, was a weakened Eleanora.

“I see her Jeremy!” Waverly cried out.

“Great, now pull her back in,” he said. “You can do it.”

With every ounce of her, Waverly reached Eleanora and touched her on the shoulder. “ _Eleanora, I’m here,”_ yelled Waverly. The woman turned around and gazed at her with eyes so faded they were no longer emerald, but a pale shade of aqua.

 _“Who are you?”_ Eleanora asked, in a voice that was barely audible.

 _“It’s me Eleanora, Waverly - Waverly Earp,”_ but there was no recognition in the woman’s eyes that they had met not long ago.

“Jeremy?!”

“Keep going, Waverly. Try doing what you did when you first met her,” he said.

Waverly called upon the angel force that helped her find Eleanora the night of the great storm. " _Help me!!"_ She screamed, and without delay, it enveloped her. This energy wrapped her like a blanket of compassion while calming the winds of this dream-like state. Waverly maneuvered in front of Eleanora and cupped the woman’s face into her hands. _“Eleanora, look at me,”_ Waverly said, _“look at me!”_ She added with authority, and Eleanora did just that. _“I’ve got you, Eleanora, I’ve got you,”_ Waverly held onto that gaze, to those faded green eyes refusing to let go of this fragile woman.

It started slowly but Waverly witnessed it, the recognition in Eleanora’s eyes, and then the returning to her body for her eyes grew in brightness and intensity and turning emerald once more. Waverly could detect that tingling sensation as it began to thrum in her hands, then into her palms, finally spreading throughout her body. Eleanora was coming back with a force! It was a force so powerful that it tossed Waverly back in her chair while shoving Jeremey a few feet behind her.

“Whoa!” Cried, Jeremy.

“Jeremy, you alright?”

“Yeah.”

Waverly rushed to the bed and caught sight of those emerald green eyes staring at her. Eleanora was back indeed. Instinctively Waverly reached for the woman’s hands, “Are you alright?”

Eleanor blinked rapidly, shielding her eyes from the harsh fluorescent lights in the room. Jeremy rushed over to shut them off and the soft blue glow of the machines was the only light in the room.

"Eleanora?" Waverly whispered again, "Are you alright?"

Eleanora nodded her head trying to speak but her throat was dry. Waverly took the water from beside her bed and placed the straw in her mouth. The woman drank thirstily.

“Thank you," Eleanora croaked. "Thank you for coming back for me, Miss Waverly."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> This is a work in progress and by no means polished.


End file.
